RCD-1c-1953S-06R Retained Cud

Description

Assigned the designation RCD-1c-1953S-06R in the Cuds on Coins catalog, this retained cud from the 1953 San Francisco cent adds another entry to a robust series of die failure varieties for this near-final S-mint Wheat Cent date. The phenomenon captured here — a broken section of die face remaining lodged at the rim rather than falling free — produces one of the more visually arresting forms of die error, as the retained fragment impresses a raised, shapeless mass onto the coin while still transferring a partial, ghostly image of the design it once bore. San Francisco's 1953 cents were struck on planchets composed of 95% copper and 5% zinc, continuing the wartime-derived alloy that had become the new standard. With the mint scheduled to end cent production just two years later, every 1953-S die pair represents one of the final generations of tooling used to strike Wheat Cents bearing the S mintmark. The sixth documented retained cud for this date reinforces the pattern of intensive die usage that characterizes San Francisco's late-era cent production, and collectors value these varieties both for their die-error interest and for the historical finality of the coins that carry them.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Keith Christenson
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References