CU-25c-1897S-01R Cud

Description

Affecting the reverse of an 1897-S Barber Quarter with a modest mintage of just 542,229, this cud combines a scarce San Francisco date with a die error on the heraldic eagle side of Charles Barber's design. The "R" suffix in the catalog designation confirms this as a reverse cud, distinguishing it from obverse rim breaks and identifying which die experienced the failure. San Francisco's 1897 quarter production was substantially lower than Philadelphia's output for the same year, making any die variety on this date inherently less common in surviving populations. Barber Quarters from the 1890s circulated extensively in Western commerce, and most survivors show significant wear — conditions under which a rim cud may be partially obscured but remains identifiable as a raised area at the coin's edge where normal design detail is absent. The reverse cud affected Barber's eagle design, featuring a heraldic eagle with outstretched wings, an olive branch, arrows, and a ribbon inscribed E PLURIBUS UNUM. Cataloged as CU-25c-1897S-01R by Cuds on Coins, this first documented reverse cud for the 1897-S date pairs die failure with a lower-mintage branch mint issue.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Dave Hollingsworth
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References