CU-1C-1973D-03 Cud

Description

The third cud variety cataloged for the 1973 Denver Lincoln Memorial cent, CU-1C-1973D-03 is an obverse die break documented in the Cuds on Coins system. Without the "R" suffix, this entry denotes a cud on the coin's portrait side, where a segment of the obverse die rim fractured and separated during production. The resulting coin displays a raised, shapeless mass of metal at the rim's edge where Lincoln's portrait, the motto, the date, or the word LIBERTY would otherwise appear — the exact design element affected depends on the clock-position of the break. CU-1C-1973D-03 is distinguished from CU-1C-1973D-01 and CU-1C-1973D-05 (the other obverse cuds for this date) by its unique position and geometry. The sequential numbering in the Cuds on Coins catalog does not necessarily reflect chronological order of die failure during production; rather, it reflects the order in which specimens were submitted to the attribution service and formally cataloged. With Denver producing over three and a half billion cents in 1973, the statistical probability of encountering a cud-bearing die among the hundreds employed was substantial. Each obverse die was expected to produce roughly 250,000 to 500,000 impressions before retirement, and dies that developed rim fractures might continue striking for thousands of additional impressions before the damage was detected and the die pulled from service, creating a population of cud-bearing coins that filtered into circulation through normal channels.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Keith Christenson
• CU-1C-1973D-03
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References