CU-1C-1852-02 Rim Cud

Description

Second rim cud documented on the 1852 Braided Hair Coronet Head Cent, CU-1C-1852-02 preserves evidence of die rim failure on Christian Gobrecht's redesigned large cent that had been in production since 1839. The Braided Hair design features Liberty facing left with her hair braided and bound by a beaded cord, surrounded by thirteen stars — a reverse type that maintained the wreath and denomination presentation established in earlier large cent issues. The 1852 cent was struck during the California Gold Rush era, when the relative value of copper coinage fluctuated against the influx of western gold, and Philadelphia produced 5,063,094 large cents that year. Rim cuds on Braided Hair cents form under the same mechanical principle as all cuds: die steel separates at the periphery where striking forces peak, and the missing die section leaves a raised featureless blob on every subsequent strike. The "02" designation indicates this was the second cud documented for the 1852 date, and the cross-reference CU-1C-1852-02 serves as the primary catalog number within the Cuds on Coins system. Large cent production at Philadelphia used screw presses that delivered variable force against the 27.5mm copper planchets, and the dies — hand-engraved from steel of period quality — accumulated rim damage at rates influenced by die hardness, collar fit, and operator technique. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this variety adds to the Braided Hair large cent die break record.

Attribution History

• Discovered by rbolanow on eBay
• CU-1C-1852-02
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References