LDB3-1946D-001 BIE Die Break

Description

Positioned at column 3 between the B and E of LIBERTY, this BIE die break on the 1946-D Lincoln Wheat Cent documents a single-position failure on a Denver Mint die from the immediate postwar era. The LDB3 designation places the raised vertical bar at the third positional column in the letter spacing, a specific location within the BIE mapping grid. Hardy designation 45D-3EL identifies the break's position as east of the L in LIBERTY at the third column — the Hardy code's "EL" suffix providing directional refinement that helps distinguish this break from other position-3 BIE varieties on Denver cents. Cohen's index does not list this variety, indicating it falls outside the scope of the Cohen die study or was discovered after the relevant volume's publication. The 1946-D Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck during the first full year of postwar production at Denver, when the Mint resumed normal operations after wartime disruptions that had included the use of zinc-coated steel planchets in 1943 and the recycled shell-casing brass composition of 1944-1945. By 1946, standard bronze planchets returned. Cuds on Coins documented this variety in October 2018, adding it to the growing census of BIE die breaks across the Lincoln Wheat Cent series.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross reference: Cohen Not Listed, Hardy 45D-3EL. 10/01/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References