RCD-5C-1866-02 Retained Cud

Description

A retained cud on an 1866 Shield Nickel with Rays — the very first year of the Shield Nickel series — RCD-5C-1866-02 documents an obverse die failure on one of the earliest nickel five-cent pieces produced by the United States Mint. The "with Rays" subtype is exclusive to 1866 and part of 1867, making any die variety on Rays-era Shield Nickels scarce and historically important as evidence of die behavior during the series' inaugural production run. The absence of an "R" suffix indicates this retained cud appears on the obverse — the side bearing the prominent shield design that gave the series its name. CU-5c-1866-01 and RCD-5c-1866-02. The companion reference to CU-5c-1866-01 reveals that this same die eventually produced a full cud — meaning the retained fragment that characterizes this variety ultimately dislodged in later die states, creating a documentable progression from retained cud to complete cud on a single die. This die-state relationship makes the pair valuable for studying cud formation mechanics on early nickel coinage. Cataloged and verified by Cuds on Coins.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Fred Weinberg
• RCD-5C-1866-02; number: CU-5c-1866-01 & RCD-5c-1866-02.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References