RCD-25c-1966-02R Retained Cud

Description

Recorded on the reverse of a 1966 Washington Quarter as the second retained cud for the date, this variety documents a die rim fracture during the pivotal transition year when circulating quarters shifted from 90% silver to copper-nickel clad composition. The 1965-1967 period represents one of the most consequential eras in United States coinage history — the Coinage Act of 1965 eliminated silver from dimes and quarters, replacing the precious metal with a copper core bonded between outer layers of copper-nickel alloy. This composition change altered the striking characteristics of the coins, as the new clad planchets behaved differently under die pressure than their silver predecessors. The 1966 Washington Quarter was struck without a mintmark regardless of production facility (mintmarks were omitted 1965-1967 to discourage hoarding and speculation), making it impossible to determine whether this retained cud originated at Philadelphia or Denver or San Francisco. A retained cud indicates that the reverse die rim fractured but the broken section stayed in place during continued production, creating a cracked and distorted rim area with partial design detail visible on struck coins. John Flanagan's heraldic eagle reverse, in use since the Washington Quarter's 1932 introduction, would continue essentially unchanged until the State Quarters program introduced rotating reverses in 1999. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with no known cross-references, RCD-25c-1966-02R documents die failure during the American coinage system's most significant compositional transformation.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Paul Argento
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References