1857 Flying Eagle Cent Obverse Rim Cud

Description

On this 1857 Flying Eagle Cent, a rim cud covers the obverse rim over the letters "STATE" in "STATES," obliterating that portion of the legend with a raised, featureless mass of metal. The Flying Eagle Cent, designed by James B. Longacre with a motif adapted from the 1856 pattern cent, was produced for circulation only in 1857 and 1858 before being replaced by the Indian Head design due to striking difficulties caused by the eagle's high-relief design opposing the wreath on the opposite side. With approximately 17.45 million cents struck in 1857, the dies endured considerable pressure from the copper-nickel alloy planchets that were harder than the copper large cents they replaced, accelerating die wear and increasing the likelihood of rim fractures. A cud forms when a section of the die rim fractures and the broken fragment separates completely, leaving a void that fills with metal during the striking process. The resulting raised blob destroys whatever design occupied that area — in this case, most of the word STATES in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA legend. Flying Eagle Cents with cuds are particularly noteworthy because the entire series spans only two production years (plus the rare 1856 pattern), making any die variety from this brief series scarce by default. The obverse positioning of this cud over the legend area suggests the fracture initiated at a stress concentration point where the raised letters meet the rim, a common failure location on dies bearing peripheral inscriptions.