RCD-1c-1865-01R Retained Cud

Description

First reverse retained cud documented for the 1865 Indian Head cent with Fancy 5 date, RCD-1c-1865-01R records a die rim failure from the final year of the Civil War on James B. Longacre's beloved Indian Head cent design. The "Fancy 5" designation identifies the particular numeral punch used for the final digit of the date — characterized by a more elaborate, curved serif on the 5 compared to the plainer "Plain 5" variant also produced in 1865. Philadelphia struck approximately 35.43 million Indian Head cents in 1865, a substantial mintage driven by continued wartime demand for small copper-nickel coinage (the Indian Head cent used a copper-nickel alloy from 1860 to 1864 before switching to bronze in late 1864). By 1865, the bronze composition was standard, and its favorable striking characteristics reduced die stress compared to the harder copper-nickel alloy of the early 1860s. Longacre's obverse design features a female figure wearing a feathered headdress with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the periphery and the date below, while the reverse displays a laurel wreath encircling ONE CENT with a small federal shield at the top. The retained cud formed when the reverse die rim fractured through its full thickness while the broken section remained attached, producing the characteristic raised displacement with visible crack boundary on struck coins. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with no known cross-references, this variety provides physical evidence of die failure during the post-war production transition. The 01R designation marks this as the first and potentially only reverse retained cud identified for the 1865 Fancy 5 Indian Head cent, making any confirmed specimen the definitive example for this date variant.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Daniel Carr
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References