DC-1c-1953-04 Die Chip

Description

Fourth documented die chip for the 1953 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, this variety displays the characteristic raised bump created when a small piece of the die surface fractured and separated, leaving a void that filled with metal during the striking process. Die chips represent localized die failure where stress concentrations or material defects cause tiny fragments to break away from the die face. The sequence number -04 indicates at least four distinct die chip positions have been cataloged for the 1953-P date, suggesting that Wheat Cent researchers have examined this date with considerable thoroughness. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with a cross-reference date of 09/01/2013, no links to other major attribution systems are currently known. The 1953 Lincoln Wheat Cent was produced during the post-war economic boom, when cent production volumes were climbing toward the record-breaking mintages of the late 1950s. Victor David Brenner's Wheat Ears reverse — in its forty-fourth year by 1953 — was approaching the end of its long production run, with only five more years remaining before the Memorial reverse debuted in 1959. Philadelphia struck over 256 million cents in 1953, and the substantial die consumption across these production runs provided ample opportunity for the formation of die chips at various positions across both the obverse and reverse dies.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross reference: none. 09/01/2013
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References