RCD-2c-1865-01R Retained Cud

Description

Sharing the same catalog designation as its Plain 5 counterpart, RCD-2c-1865-01R on the 1865 Two Cent Piece with Fancy 5 date logotype documents the identical die variety on the ornamental date sub-variety. The Fancy 5 displays a distinctive curved flag on the numeral, distinguishing it from the simpler Plain 5, though both sub-types were struck at the Philadelphia Mint. As the first United States denomination to bear IN GOD WE TRUST — introduced in 1864 amid the Civil War — the Two Cent Piece occupies a unique position in coinage history. This retained cud formed when a reverse die crack reached the rim and the fractured section remained captured, continuing to produce coins bearing a raised irregular mass overlaying the normal design. The bronze composition of 95% copper with tin and zinc yielded planchets soft enough to capture the full impression of the retained fragment. The Two Cent Piece's short production span from 1864 to 1873 limits the total catalog of die varieties, making each documented retained cud a proportionally significant addition to the denomination's failure record on the Fancy 5 sub-type.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Fred Weinberg
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References