CU-1C-1972D-05 Cud

Description

Fifth cud in the 1972-D Lincoln Memorial cent catalog maintained by Cuds on Coins, CU-1C-1972D-05 adds another entry to this date's substantial die break record. The accumulation of five standard cuds plus two rim cuds for a single date-mint combination provides statistical evidence of the extreme die consumption rates during Denver's 1972 cent production, where each working die endured millions of strike cycles before fatigue, wear, or catastrophic failure necessitated replacement. Cud formation follows predictable metallurgical pathways: the repeated compression and release cycles during striking introduce dislocation movements within the die steel's crystal structure, these dislocations accumulate at stress concentration points (primarily the rim-to-face junction), microcracks nucleate at the dislocation pileups, and progressive crack growth eventually connects enough microcracks to liberate a macroscopic fragment. The resulting coin shows the cud as a raised, unstruck mass — smooth or slightly textured from contact with the raw die recess rather than showing the fine engraved detail present on intact portions of the die face. CU-1C-1972D-05 occupies the sequence between entries 04 (a rim cud) and 06, though catalog position carries no information about chronological order of discovery, physical location on the die, or relative size of the break. Collectors seeking to attribute a 1972-D cud specimen must compare its position, extent, and contour against reference images for all seven documented varieties to achieve positive identification within the Cuds on Coins system.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Bob Byrd
• CU-1C-1972D-05
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References