1955 Lincoln Wheat Cent - RIDB-1c-1955-01 Retained Interior Die Break

Description

Cross-referenced as JCc-55_242 in the comprehensive die variety census, this first documented retained interior die break for the 1955 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent preserves a fracture where a section of the die surface away from the rim cracked but did not separate. In a retained interior die break, the broken fragment stays in position rather than falling away, so the struck coin shows a cracked area with partial design detail rather than the completely featureless raised mass that characterizes a full interior die break. The 1955 Philadelphia cent is one of numismatics' most scrutinized dates because of the famous 1955 Doubled Die Obverse, and this intense collector attention has led to the documentation of numerous secondary varieties including die breaks. The mechanical stresses of high-speed striking at such volume accelerated die fatigue, and interior fractures developed at stress concentration points within the design elements. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with a documentation date of December 15, 2018, RIDB-1c-1955-01 represents the systematic cataloging of die failure varieties beyond the more commonly collected doubled dies and repunched mintmarks.

Cross References

• Cross reference: RIDB-1c-1955-01, JCc-55_242. 12/15/2018.

External References