CU-1c-1882-01R Cud

Description

Sole documented reverse cud for the 1882 Indian Head Cent, CU-1c-1882-01R records a complete die rim separation on the wreath reverse of this date — a catastrophic failure where a fragment of the die rim broke away entirely, leaving a cavity in the die that transferred as a raised featureless mass on every subsequent coin struck before the die was retired. The 1882 Indian Head Cent was produced exclusively at the Philadelphia Mint with a mintage of approximately 38.6 million pieces, a figure that placed significant demands on die production and accelerated wear on individual die pairs through extended press runs. The Indian Head design's reverse, featuring an oak wreath with a shield at the top and the denomination ONE CENT at center, concentrated design relief around the wreath elements near the rim, creating stress zones where fractures were most likely to initiate. As the sole cud documented for 1882, the -01R designation marks this as the only known instance of complete reverse rim separation for the date — though additional cuds may exist undiscovered or unreported in the broader surviving population. The Indian Head Cent series spanned fifty years from 1859 through 1909, and cuds are documented across many dates within that range, though not every date has yielded cud discoveries. Each cud is unique to the specific die that failed, and the resulting variety represents a snapshot of die deterioration in an era when die steel metallurgy and press technology were still evolving. Single-cud dates like 1882 are valued by completionist collectors who aim to document at least one rim failure from every available year in the series.

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