CU-1C-1974D-13 Cud

Description

The final entry in the 1974-D cud census, CU-1C-1974D-13 is cataloged by the Cuds on Coins team with the cross-reference notation "number: none," indicating that no alternative catalog numbers from other attribution services have been assigned to this variety. As the thirteenth documented cud for the 1974 Denver Mint Lincoln Memorial cent (with the eleventh position skipped), CU-1C-1974D-13 closes out what is one of the most extensive single-date cud catalogs in the Lincoln Memorial cent series. Thirteen cuds from a single date-mint combination is a testament to the mechanical realities of producing approximately 4.24 billion coins at a single facility — a volume that required hundreds of die pairs operating across multiple press lines throughout the year. Each die pair endured hundreds of thousands of high-pressure striking cycles, and the probability that at least some dies would develop terminal rim fractures was virtually certain at this scale of production. CU-1C-1974D-13 documents the thirteenth such failure to be submitted and formally cataloged, though additional uncataloged cud specimens from different 1974-D dies may exist in collections without having been formally reported to an attribution service. The cud itself presents the standard diagnostic features: a raised, formless mass of metal at the coin's rim where die steel separated and left an open cavity, with the adjacent design elements struck normally from the intact portions of the die. Whether this final entry represents an obverse or reverse break depends on the specific die that failed — the absence of an "R" suffix in the catalog number indicates an obverse die rim failure. Collectors holding this variety possess the last cataloged entry in the 1974-D cud sequence, completing a census that spans the full range of rim failure positions documented for this historically significant production date.

Attribution History

• CU-1C-1974D-13; number: none.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References