RCD-1c-1955-21 Retained Cud

Description

The 1955 Lincoln Wheat Cent is a date with profound variety significance—home to the famous 1955 Doubled Die Obverse, arguably the most publicized doubled die in American numismatic history. Within that context, the retained cud catalog for 1955 represents a parallel but less celebrated research tradition, focused on die failure rather than hub doubling. The RCD-1c-1955-21 is one of the more deeply cataloged entries in this sequence, the -21 designation indicating an extensive inventory of retained cud varieties from the date. Cataloged and verified by Cuds on Coins, this variety carries the Jim Caldwell cross-reference JCc-1955-241, placing it within the systematic inventory framework that Caldwell developed for die break progression varieties across the Lincoln cent series. The retained cud mechanism—a die fragment that has fully separated but remains within the die cavity during continued production—leaves a characteristic raised, flat signature on struck coins, its edges defined by the crack lines of the original die failure. The 1955 Philadelphia cent, struck without a mint mark in large numbers, has a correspondingly large documented die failure population.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Cross reference: JCc-1955-241. 09/01/2013.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References