CU-1c-1865-03 Cud

Description

Documented on the Plain 5 date variant, CU-1c-1865-03 records the same third cud variety on an 1865 Indian Head Cent bearing the simpler, straight-lined numeral 5. The Plain 5 logotype produces a more austere appearance compared to the flowing Fancy 5, and both were used concurrently at Philadelphia during 1865 — the transitional year when bronze replaced copper-nickel. That CU-03 appears under both date varieties means researchers have confirmed the rim break on coins from dies paired with each date punch, though different working dies could develop similar rim failures independently. The bronze alloy of 95% copper with 5% tin and zinc introduced in 1865 would remain the standard cent composition until 1943's wartime steel cents, making this year the foundation of a metallurgical tradition spanning nearly eight decades. Cuds on these early bronze cents are collected both as die varieties and as artifacts of the production challenges inherent in compositional changeovers, when Mint personnel were calibrating striking pressures and die hardness for the new planchet material.

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