1974 (D) Lincoln Memorial Cent - CU-1C-1974D-04 Cud

Description

Assigned catalog number CU-1C-1974D-04 by the Cuds on Coins team, this variety is the fourth documented cud for the 1974 Denver Mint Lincoln Memorial cent. The absence of an "R" suffix indicates an obverse die rim break, placing the cud on the portrait side of the coin. Rim cuds develop through a fatigue-driven fracture mechanism: the die rim, which defines the outermost boundary of the coin's design and interfaces with the collar, experiences concentrated mechanical stress at points where design elements such as lettering, denticles, or portrait features intersect the rim. Over hundreds of thousands of striking cycles, microscopic fatigue cracks nucleate at these stress concentration points and propagate outward until a segment of die steel separates completely. The location of CU-1C-1974D-04 on the coin's circumference identifies the stress concentration point where the fracture initiated on this particular obverse die. Each failed die may have produced thousands of cud-bearing coins before quality control detected the damage and removed the die from service, creating a collectible population distributed through normal circulation channels.

Cross References

• CU-1C-1974D-04

External References