IDB-1C-1956-04 Interior Die Break

Description

The fourth interior die break documented on the 1956 Lincoln Wheat Cent, the IDB-1C-1956-04 represents a category of die failure distinct from the more common rim-connected cuds and retained cuds. An interior die break occurs when a section of the die face fractures and detaches entirely within the interior of the design — away from the rim — creating a void in the die that fills with metal during striking and produces a raised, flat-topped island of metal surrounded by normal design on the finished coin. Unlike cuds, which always connect to the rim because they result from rim-edge fractures, interior die breaks can appear anywhere on the die face and are generally considered scarcer because the mechanical conditions required to fracture a die internally without the crack reaching the rim are more unusual. Attributed by Cuds on Coins as IDB-1C-1956-04, this is the fourth such interior break cataloged for the 1956 date — part of the penultimate year of the Lincoln Wheat Cent design that would be replaced by the Memorial Cent in 1959. Interior die breaks on Wheat Cents attract collectors who specialize in the full taxonomy of die failure types, as they represent a failure mode mechanically distinct from the cracks, cuds, and retained cuds that form the majority of cataloged die break varieties.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jon Rhodes
• IDB-1C-1956-04
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References