RCD-1c-1909-17R Retained Cud

Description

Seventeenth in the reverse retained cud census for the inaugural 1909 Lincoln wheat cent, RCD-1c-1909-17R was cataloged by the Cuds on Coins service on what is identified as the 1909 VDB variety — bearing Victor David Brenner's initials on the reverse, the feature that caused immediate public controversy and led to the initials' removal after approximately 27.99 million cents were struck at Philadelphia. This is the very first year of the Lincoln cent, making any die variety from 1909 inherently significant as documentation of the production process during the series' debut. The VDB cents were struck during a compressed production window before the Mint removed the designer's initials from the reverse, and the dies used during this period reflect the new design's early manufacturing challenges. Retained cuds on the reverse of a 1909 VDB cent place the die failure directly on the side bearing the controversial V.D.B. initials at the bottom between the wheat ears, alongside E PLURIBUS UNUM, ONE CENT, and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The retained cud mechanism — a rim-connected crack with partial metal displacement where the broken die section remains attached — creates a raised, shelf-like distortion on the coin's surface. The relatively deep census of seventeen reverse retained cuds for the 1909 VDB date suggests that the Philadelphia Mint's die shop, working with a brand-new design and potentially unfamiliar die profiles, experienced notable die failure rates during the initial production run. Collectors of 1909 VDB cents should note that any die variety on this historically significant date carries enhanced numismatic interest beyond the variety itself, combining first-year-of-issue appeal with die failure documentation.

External References