CU-50c-1903O-01 Rim Cud

Description

Produced at the New Orleans Mint over a century ago, this 1903-O Barber half dollar carries a rim cud cataloged as CU-50c-1903O-01 by Cuds on Coins, with the listing date of 10/22/2019 marking its entry into the database. No cross-references with other attribution systems have been established. Charles E. Barber's half dollar design, in production from 1892 to 1915, features a right-facing Liberty head wearing a Phrygian cap with a laurel wreath on the obverse and a heraldic eagle on the reverse. The New Orleans Mint struck 2.10 million Barber half dollars in 1903, a production figure that was typical for the facility's half dollar output in its final years of operation (the New Orleans Mint would close permanently in 1909). The "O" mintmark, struck into each die individually, identifies New Orleans production and adds historical provenance to the coin. Rim cuds on Barber half dollars are scarce in the numismatic marketplace because the series was heavily circulated, and the silver composition (90% silver, 10% copper) made many examples targets for melting during periods of high silver prices, particularly the great silver meltdowns of 1918 (Pittman Act) and the 1960s-1980s bullion market. Each surviving Barber half cud represents a coin that escaped both attrition through wear and destruction through melting. The "01" designation indicates this is the sole documented rim cud for the 1903-O half dollar, making it a singleton entry in the Barber half cud census for this date. Die steel at the turn of the twentieth century was produced by methods that yielded greater variability in hardness and grain structure compared to modern steels, and New Orleans dies may have traveled considerable distances from the Philadelphia hub facility before entering service.

Attribution History

• Cross reference number: none. 10/22/2019.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References