IDB-1c-1855-01 Interior Die Break

Description

The first cataloged interior die break for the 1855 Braided Hair Coronet Head Cent in the Knob on Ear variety, IDB-1c-1855-01 documents a fracture within the die face rather than along the rim. Interior die breaks differ from cuds: while cuds involve rim fragments breaking away, interior breaks form when stress fractures propagate through the die body in areas surrounded by intact steel, producing raised irregular features within the design field. The Knob on Ear designation identifies a specific die variety where a defect creates a small protuberance on Liberty's ear in Christian Gobrecht's modified Matron Head design. Struck at Philadelphia in the penultimate year of the large copper cent series that would end in 1857 with the Flying Eagle Cent, the 1855 Braided Hair cent is a substantial coin weighing approximately 10.9 grams of pure copper. Large cents had been in continuous production since 1793, and by 1855 the rising cost of copper relative to face value was making the denomination impractical. Cuds on Coins documented this interior die break as the sole cataloged IDB for this date and die variety.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Westcoastcoinsoregon on ebay
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References