RCD-1c-1955-19 Retained Cud

Description

Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, the RCD-1c-1955-19 is the nineteenth documented retained cud on the 1955 Lincoln Wheat Cent from the Philadelphia Mint — a date best known in numismatic circles for the famous 1955 Doubled Die Obverse, one of the most valuable and recognizable error coins in American coinage. While the DDO dominates collector attention for this date, the retained cud population tells a parallel story of die failure during the same production year. Retained cuds form when a die fractures at the rim and the broken section remains in position, producing raised crack outlines on struck coins. Nineteen documented retained cuds for the 1955 date indicates substantial die usage and corresponding failure frequency at the Philadelphia Mint. The 1955 Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck during the final years of the Wheat reverse design, and die break varieties from this era document the last chapter of production for a design that had been in continuous service since 1909. For collectors who focus on die break varieties rather than hub varieties, the 1955 retained cud population offers an alternative entry point into one of numismatics' most celebrated dates.

Attribution History

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

External References