RCD-1c-1942-08R Retained Cud

Description

Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, the RCD-1c-1942-08R is the eighth documented reverse retained cud on the 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent from the Philadelphia Mint — the final year of standard bronze composition before the wartime switch to zinc-coated steel in 1943. The 1942 cent holds significance as the last normal-composition cent produced before the most dramatic material change in the denomination's history, and die varieties from this terminal year of bronze production document the final chapter of pre-war cent manufacturing. Eight reverse retained cuds for the 1942 date indicates moderate die failure frequency, and comparing this count against the 1943 steel cent's 94+ retained cuds reveals the magnitude of the steel composition's impact — a roughly tenfold increase in documented rim failures when steel replaced bronze. Retained cuds form when a die fractures at the rim and the broken fragment remains trapped, and on 1942 bronze cents these rim cracks developed at the normal rate expected for dies striking the standard 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc alloy. The "08R" reverse designation places this crack on Brenner's wheat ears design, and as the last year of standard composition, every 1942 die variety marks the end of an era in Lincoln Cent production.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Keith Christenson
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References