RCD-2c-1868-03R Retained Cud

Description

Cataloged by Cuds on Coins as RCD-2c-1868-03R, this retained cud variety appears on an 1868 Two Cent Piece from the series produced from 1864 through 1873. The Two Cent Piece was struck in bronze consisting of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 6.22 grams with a 23 mm diameter and a plain edge. Philadelphia struck 2,803,750 Two Cent Pieces in 1868, a declining mintage figure that reflected the denomination's waning popularity as the three-cent nickel and the five-cent nickel increasingly fulfilled small-denomination transaction needs. Designed by James Barton Longacre, the Two Cent Piece is historically significant as the first U.S. coin to bear the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, which appeared on its obverse shield design. A retained cud is a die break variety where a piece of the die rim has cracked and begun to separate from the die face but has not yet fully detached, creating a raised, featureless area on struck coins in the affected zone while the broken die fragment remains partially in place. The "R" in the catalog designation RCD-2c-1868-03R indicates this is specifically a reverse retained cud, locating the break on the wreath side of the coin. The Thurman and Margolis Cud Book, referenced in the TCC file number system used by Cuds on Coins, is the foundational reference for die break and cud varieties on U.S. coins, and its file numbering system provides a standardized framework for cataloging these varieties across all denominations and dates. Retained cuds on Two Cent Pieces are uncommon finds, as the denomination's nine-year production span and generally modest mintages resulted in a limited total die population, reducing the overall number of die break varieties that could develop during production.

Attribution History

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

External References