1945 (S) Lincoln Wheat Cent - CU-1C-1945S-03 Cud

Description

Third cataloged cud for the 1945 San Francisco Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, CU-1C-1945S-03 documents a rim fracture occurring during the final year of World War II. The 1945 cent was struck on the same recycled shell casing brass composition used in 1944, salvaged from spent military ammunition casings and made into cents of 95% copper and 5% zinc. San Francisco produced approximately 181.77 million cents in 1945, and the S mintmark below the date identifies this variety's origin from the facility that had been in operation since the California Gold Rush era. Cross-referenced as CU-1C-1945S-03 by Cuds on Coins, the cud formed when a die rim section broke away completely during production, leaving a void that the shell casing brass filled under striking pressure to create the characteristic raised featureless mass. The three documented cuds for the 1945-S date represent a modest but meaningful catalog of rim failures, and CU-1C-1945S-03 provides die break specialists with another example of wartime die degradation on cents from the San Francisco facility.

Cross References

• CU-1C-1945S-03

External References