1806 Cent Error List with Pictures
A line running down from CENT can come from the copper itself, while a raised front line can come from a cracked stamping tool. The difference is small but useful when checking 1806 Draped Bust cent errors.
An unworn example with light cracks and clash marks sold for $19,200 in August 2020, largely reflecting its scarce condition. Estimated whole-coin values below span $100–$30,000.
Read on to see where the recorded marks occur and how to separate them from later surface damage.
1. 1806 Draped Bust Cent Planchet Lamination — Estimated Up to $3,000
A fine line runs from the C in CENT down to the rim beneath the fraction on the recorded coin. The copper separated along a thin layer, a defect called lamination.
The prepared metal disc is called a planchet. A weak area inside that disc can open without leaving a large loose flap.
This example also has environmental damage and altered color, which are separate surface problems. Its PCGS AU Details label describes strong surviving design with those problems; neither the rough patches nor its color change should be counted as another mint-made layer defect.
Estimated Value
Goldberg’s catalog estimated the recorded example at $600 and up. That was an auction estimate, not a completed sale, and it covered a coin with both lamination and damaged surfaces.
For authenticated examples, use a whole-coin estimate of $100–$3,000. An 1842 large cent with a small layer flaw sold for $750 in September 2021, offering a different-year comparison rather than a reason to ignore the 1806 coin’s environmental damage.
How to Identify
Find the C in CENT on the back and follow the thin line downward with a 10× magnifier. It should continue toward the rim below the small fraction, rather than end at an unrelated scratch.
Changing the light can reveal where the copper separates. Avoid scraping the line or trying to open it.
The surrounding roughness needs a separate check: scattered pits are evidence of surface damage, not proof of lamination.
Use a scale against 10.89 grams and calipers against about 29 mm on a loose coin, inspecting the plain edge gently. Follow the natural layer boundary from C to the lower rim to match the recorded flaw.
2. 1806 Draped Bust Cent Off-Center Strike — Estimated Up to $12,000
An off-center strike leaves part of the copper disc outside the design. The portrait and wreath shift away from the middle, with an unstruck area beside them.
The disc was not correctly positioned when the press closed. Both faces therefore need to be examined, rather than judging the error from one uneven border.
Early large-cent references record this error for 1806 without assigning one standard direction or percentage. A slightly misplaced design and a dramatic half-off strike should not share a single description, and a cropped photograph cannot establish how much design actually missed the coin.
Estimated Value
Estimate $300–$12,000 for authentic 1806 off-center cents across varying displacement and condition. A readable date, clear untouched copper, and attractive surfaces generally help a coin’s appeal.
As a different-series comparison, a slightly off-center 1814 Classic Head cent brought $1,800 including fees in January 2026. Its good preservation mattered; that sale does not establish a particular angle, percentage, or completed transaction for an 1806 example with a larger missing portion of design.
How to Identify
Place full photographs of both faces side by side before measuring the shift. A photo cropped tightly around the portrait can hide the unstruck copper that matters most.
Check a loose coin with a scale and calipers against the normal copper specifications of 10.89 grams and about 29 mm. The strike may stretch the outline, but later trimming can also alter its dimensions.
Inspect the plain edge and the boundary beside the design with a 10× magnifier for grinding, cuts, or an added metal piece.
Do not choose an angle from another year’s example. Find the displaced design on both faces next to an original unstruck part of the same disc.
3. 1806 Draped Bust Cent Die Cracks and Rim Cuds — Estimated Up to $30,000
Fine raised lines can cross the front of an 1806 cent where the stamping tool cracked. Copper filled the narrow opening in that tool, called a die, during the strike.
A wider break reaching the tool’s edge can leave a raised patch attached to the coin’s rim. Collectors call that patch a cud.
The reported 1806 cud sits at the upper back rim. It differs from the front cracks and from a broad area where the tool surface swelled.
A swollen tool does not necessarily leave a narrow crack line at the same spot on the coin.
Estimated Value
For worn coins, estimate $100–$3,000 when the raised crack or rim break is genuine. Attractive unworn examples can reach an estimated $10,000–$30,000, mainly because of the coin’s overall preservation.
An unworn PCGS MS63 Brown 1806 cent with light front cracks and clash marks brought $19,200 in August 2020. That result is not a sale of the reported upper-back cud, and the price should not be treated as a premium for a small crack alone.
How to Identify
A raised line and a cut can look similar under overhead light. Turn the coin slowly beneath a lamp, then use a 10× magnifier to determine which way the mark projects.
For the upper-back cud, examine the point where the patch meets the rim. A later edge blow may push copper inward but leave flattened design or an impact mark.
The coin normally weighs 10.89 grams and measures about 29 mm. Use a scale and calipers if it is loose, checking the plain edge at the same time.
Do not use the broad swelling near the lowest front curl as proof of a crack.
Trace a thin raised line for a crack, or an unbroken raised connection into the upper back rim for the reported cud.
4. 1806 Draped Bust Cent Clashed Dies — Estimated Up to $30,000
Faint extra outlines can appear between the normal design elements when the two stamping tools hit each other without a coin between them. The tools pick up parts of the opposing design.
Later coins carry traces of that accidental contact. This is called a die clash, and it does not mean that each coin was struck twice.
A worn 1806 example was described with light clash marks in the 2022 EAC sale. A separate unworn ESM example shows them before and below Liberty’s chin, so its visible location offers a more useful comparison than a random scratch.
Estimated Value
The ESM example graded PCGS MS63 Brown sold for $19,200 in August 2020. Its unworn preservation accounts for much more of that price than the light clash marks.
Estimate $100–$3,000 for worn clashed examples and $10,000–$30,000 for attractive unworn coins. The same ESM cent also has front cracks; those two features do not justify adding its auction price twice when valuing the single coin.
How to Identify
Begin with a clear image of the normal wreath side, then compare its shapes with the faint extra outlines on the portrait side. A clash mark should relate to the opposing design, rather than wander like a scratch.
Use a 10× magnifier near the chin when comparing the ESM example. Do not assume every worn 1806 coin preserves that area equally well.
A loose coin should be checked against 10.89 grams on a scale and about 29 mm with calipers, including its plain edge. Identify a faint extra outline that matches the opposing design in shape and position, rather than calling every line near the portrait a clash.
Conclusion
Check whether a suspicious line is a layer opening, a raised crack, or a trace of the opposite design. These different causes can leave small marks, while an off-center strike changes the position of the whole design.
Estimated values run from $100 to $30,000. Surface quality remains important: environmental damage lowers appeal, and a high auction price for an unworn coin is not the value of its tiny error alone.