CU-1C-1847-3 Rim Cud

Description

Among the heavy copper cents of the antebellum era, this third documented rim cud for the 1847 Braided Hair Cent records a die failure on one of America's final large cent issues. Cataloged as CU-1C-1847-3, the variety preserves the raised featureless mass that forms when a section of the die rim fractures and separates completely, leaving a cavity that fills with metal during striking. The Braided Hair design by Christian Gobrecht ran from 1839 through 1857, featuring Liberty wearing a coronet with her hair in a braided arrangement — the last iteration of the large cent format in American commerce since 1793. These coins measured approximately 27.5mm in diameter and weighed roughly 10.89 grams of pure copper, struck exclusively at the Philadelphia Mint. By the late 1840s, the Mint was producing large cents by the millions annually, and the mechanical stresses of sustained press runs pushed dies toward rim failure. The denomination would be abolished after 1857, replaced by the smaller Flying Eagle Cent, making Braided Hair cuds a record of die stress from the final generation of America's original copper coinage.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Friscomint1793 on eBay
• CU-1C-1847-3
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References