RCD-2c-1865-05R Retained Cud

Description

Paralleling the Plain 5 entry of the same designation, RCD-2c-1865-05R on the 1865 Two Cent Piece with Fancy 5 documents the fifth reverse retained cud on the ornamental date logotype. The Fancy 5 sub-variety features a distinctive curved flag flourish on the numeral 5, distinguishing it from the simpler Plain 5 punch used on other 1865 dies. Retained cuds form through progressive die failure — a crack extending to the rim causes a wedge of die steel to fracture partially free while remaining captured, stamping a raised mass into each planchet. The Two Cent Piece, produced exclusively at Philadelphia from 1864 through 1873, was conceived as a wartime denomination addressing the acute shortage of small change. Its obverse introduced IN GOD WE TRUST to American coinage, a legacy that far outlasted the denomination itself. Five reverse retained cuds across the Fancy 5 mirrors the count on the Plain 5, suggesting comparable die attrition rates between the two date punch varieties. For collectors, the parallel documentation enables study of whether ornamental versus plain punches experienced differential failure patterns.

Attribution History

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

External References