CU-1c-1866-02R Cud

Description

Emerging from the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, this reverse cud on the 1866 Indian Head Cent documents a die failure during a period of significantly reduced cent production. The "R" suffix identifies CU-1c-1866-02R as the second documented reverse die break for the date. Mintage fell to approximately 9.8 million pieces, a steep decline from the wartime peaks that had exceeded 49 million just three years earlier. By 1866 the composition had changed to bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc), adopted in 1864, giving the coins their familiar warm brown toning. The 1866 date also marked the introduction of the final obverse design variant in the Indian Head series, featuring the "bold N" treatment in the ONE CENT reverse legend. A reverse cud forms when a section of the reverse die rim fractures under repeated striking stress, separates from the die body, and leaves a cavity that fills with metal during subsequent impressions. The raised featureless mass that results sits at a position unique to each failed die. Lower-mintage dates like 1866 consumed fewer die pairs, making documented cuds scarcer. CU-1c-1866-02R is cataloged in the Cuds on Coins reference system.

External References