RCD-1c-1869-01R Retained Cud

Description

Documenting the first retained reverse cud on the 1869 Indian Head cent, RCD-1c-1869-01R captures a die rim fracture on James Barton Longacre's enduring small cent design during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. The Indian Head cent — more accurately depicting Liberty wearing a Native American headdress — was struck from 1859 through 1909 and underwent a composition change from copper-nickel to bronze in 1864. By 1869, the bronze composition (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) had been standard for five years, and Philadelphia Mint was the sole production facility, striking approximately 6.42 million cents for this date. The relatively modest mintage makes 1869 Indian Head cents a conditionally scarce issue even without variety attribution, and die failure varieties add a further dimension of rarity. A retained cud on the reverse indicates that a section of the reverse die rim cracked under the repetitive stress of striking but remained attached to the die body rather than detaching completely. The retained fragment creates a distinctive diagnostic on struck coins — a raised, flattened, or shelf-like disturbance near the rim where the partially separated die segment failed to fully impress the design. Unlike a full cud where the detached piece leaves a featureless raised blob, a retained cud may show partial design elements rendered indistinctly or at a slightly different plane than the surrounding detail. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with no known cross-references, RCD-1c-1869-01R represents a notable find on a 19th-century minor coinage issue where die failures were less systematically cataloged than on 20th-century series. Collectors should inspect the reverse rim under low-angle lighting at 10-20x magnification to identify the characteristic shelf or disturbance marking the retained fracture.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Devin Anderson
• Cross reference number: none. 10/13/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References