1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent - VDB - RCD-1c-1909-04R Retained Cud

Description

Attributed by Cuds on Coins as RCD-1c-1909-04R, this retained cud occupies a place of special distinction as a die error variety on the 1909 Philadelphia Lincoln Wheat Cent — the inaugural year of a design that would endure for over a century. The 1909 VDB issue, bearing Victor David Brenner's initials on the reverse, was the very first Lincoln cent struck, and the prominence of Brenner's initials generated a public outcry that led to their removal during the production run. A retained cud forms when a section of the die face fractures at the rim but remains mechanically captured in its original position, so that each coin struck from the compromised die carries a raised, irregularly shaped mass partially overlaying the normal design. Unlike a full cud, where the broken piece falls away and leaves a raised lump with no design, the retained fragment still transfers the design it carries, usually raised slightly above the rest of the coin or nudged out of line with it. The fourth documented retained cud for this landmark date, RCD-1c-1909-04R connects the birth of the Lincoln cent with the ordinary realities of die wear and failure that accompanied even the most historically significant production runs. Collectors of first-year issues and die errors alike find these 1909 retained cuds exceptionally compelling.

External References