LDB5-1958-001 BIE Die Break

Description

The LDB5-1958-001 is a BIE die break variety found on the 1958 Philadelphia-struck Lincoln Wheat cent, the very last year of the wheat reverse design that had been in continuous production since 1909. The coin weighs 3.1 grams, measures 19 mm in diameter, and is composed of 95% copper and 5% tin-and-zinc. Cross-referenced as Cohen 58-B1002 and Hardy 58P-5F+2, this variety was documented by the Cuds on Coins reference project as of December 18, 2015. The LDB5 prefix indicates this break occurs at position 5, between the letters E and R in LIBERTY, while the F+2 classification denotes a full break extending both above the highest level and below the lowest level of the surrounding letters, measuring in the second size sub-category. Full breaks in the E-R position are among the more dramatic BIE specimens because the relatively wide spacing between these two letters allows the break to develop more broadly than in narrower letter gaps. The 1958 Philadelphia Mint produced over 253 million wheat cents in the final year, and BIE varieties from this terminal year hold special appeal for collectors assembling complete date-and-position sets who recognize these as the last possible wheat cent BIE dies. The Cohen catalog number B1002 reflects the extraordinary depth of documentation achieved by die break researchers, with over a thousand individual BIE breaks cataloged for the 1958 Philadelphia date alone. This variety belongs to the Lincoln Wheat Cents 1909-1958 series, and its discovery over half a century after minting demonstrates that patient examination of common-date coins continues to yield new variety finds.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Earl M
• Cross references: Cohen 58-B1002, Hardy 58P-5F+2. 12/18/2015.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References