CU-1C-1971D-02 Cud

Description

Cataloged as CU-1C-1971D-02 in the Cuds on Coins die break reference, this variety documents a major die break on the 1971-D Lincoln Memorial cent — a coin produced at the Denver Mint during one of the most prolific production years in the Memorial cent series. A cud forms when a section of die steel fractures at or near the rim and separates from the die body, leaving a void that fills with planchet metal during each subsequent strike to produce a raised, featureless mass on the coin's surface. The 1971-D date's approximately 2.91 billion coin mintage subjected working dies to an extraordinary number of striking cycles, accelerating the metal fatigue that drives crack initiation and propagation through the die steel. CU-1C-1971D-02's designation as the second cataloged cud for this date and mintmark indicates multiple dies developed rim fractures during the 1971-D production campaign — an expected consequence of the volume-driven die replacement schedule. Each cud's identity is defined by its unique fracture geometry: the angular position along the rim, the extent of penetration into the design field, and the contour of the break boundary. These characteristics connect every coin struck from the fractured die to a single parent die, making each cud variety a fingerprint of a specific die's mechanical failure. For collectors who specialize in die breaks, cuds offer an immediately satisfying visual signature — the raised blob is typically visible to the naked eye, contrasting with the magnification-dependent subtlety of many other die variety types.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Dan Hemperly
• CU-1C-1971D-02
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References