RCD-1c-1907-01R Retained Cud

Description

The sole documented retained cud for the 1907 Indian Head Cent, the RCD-1c-1907-01R records die failure in a year that marks a significant transition in American numismatics. While the Indian Head Cent continued its routine production at the Philadelphia Mint — with approximately 108.1 million struck, the highest mintage the series would ever achieve — 1907 also witnessed Theodore Roosevelt's dramatic redesign initiative that produced the famous Saint-Gaudens double eagle and Indian Head eagle gold coins. The contrast is notable: while the gold denominations were receiving revolutionary new artistry, the humble cent continued with its forty-eight-year-old design, producing the same die failure varieties that had accumulated across nearly five decades of production. A retained cud captures the standard rim fracture pattern where a broken fragment stays attached, creating raised irregular metal on struck coins. Attributed by Cuds on Coins, the 1907 retained cud's unique status for the date — despite the record-setting mintage — suggests either that additional specimens await discovery or that the Mint's quality control at peak production was effective enough to catch and retire most damaged dies before significant numbers of affected coins entered circulation.

Attribution History

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

External References