CU-1C-1917D-06 Cud

Description

Six documented cud positions on the 1917 (D) Lincoln Wheat Cent tell a story of aggressive die usage at the Denver Mint during World War I. This specimen, cataloged as CU-1C-1917D-06, represents the sixth such rim fracture recorded for the date — an unusually high count that suggests dies were kept in service well past the point where rim integrity began to fail. Wartime production demands in 1917 placed enormous pressure on all three operating mints to maintain coinage output, and extending die life was one strategy for keeping presses running despite supply constraints on replacement dies. A cud forms through a specific failure mode: the rim portion of the die, which defines the coin's outer boundary and contains the highest stress concentration during striking, cracks and eventually loses a segment entirely. The void left behind fills with planchet metal under tons of striking force, producing a raised featureless lump that contrasts sharply with the surrounding design. The concentration of six cuds on a single Denver date from the WWI era provides tangible evidence of the production stress that the nation's branch mints endured during wartime operations.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Fred Weinberg
• CU-1C-1917D-06
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References