1942 (S) Lincoln Wheat Cent - RCD-1c-1942S-01R Retained Cud

Description

Struck during the first full year of American involvement in World War II, this 1942-S Lincoln Wheat Cent carries a retained cud on the reverse cataloged as RCD-1c-1942S-01R — the first documented retained cud on the reverse for the San Francisco issue. Retained cuds occur when a fragment of the die breaks away at the rim but stays trapped in the press, striking coins with a characteristic flat, raised area where the broken piece displaces the normal design. The 1942 cent retains the standard bronze composition (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) that would be temporarily abandoned the following year when copper was redirected to munitions production. Cross-referenced as JCc-1942S_161 in the J. Cohen catalog and LC-42S-4R-RET in the Leroy Cohen catalog, this variety benefits from dual attribution across two respected die break reference systems. The "RET" suffix in the Leroy Cohen number explicitly flags the retained nature of the cud. Wartime production pressures at San Francisco during 1942 contributed to accelerated die wear, and retained cuds from this period document the physical toll that high-speed coining placed on individual dies.

Cross References

• Cross reference number: JCc-1942S_161, LC-42S-4R-RET. 09/01/2013, 10/27/2023.

External References