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 leaving a featureless area, the retained fragment transfers a distorted partial impression of the design it once carried. 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.

Attribution History

• Discovered by G
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References