1942 (S) Lincoln Wheat Cent - CU-1C-1942S-01 Cud

Description

Struck in the final year that Lincoln Cents were produced in their original bronze composition, this 1942 (S) Wheat Cent carries the first documented cud for its date — cataloged as CU-1C-1942S-01. The following year would bring the dramatic switch to zinc-coated steel planchets as copper became a critical strategic material for ammunition casings and other military applications during World War II. San Francisco's 1942 cent production thus represents the end of an era for the denomination's alloy, and any die variety from this transitional year carries a layer of historical context beyond the numismatic interest of the error itself. The cud — a raised, design-free mass of metal along the rim produced when a die segment fractures and separates — documents a moment of mechanical failure in wartime coinage production. With the nation mobilizing for global conflict, mint operations balanced the competing demands of maintaining circulating coinage supply while conserving materials and manpower for the war effort, conditions under which die replacement schedules may have been stretched to maximize output from each working die.

Cross References

• CU-1C-1942S-01

External References