1983 (P) Washington Quarter - RCD-25c-1983P-01 Retained Cud

Description

On this 1983 Philadelphia Mint Washington Quarter, a section of the die rim cracked completely free, producing a retained cud where the broken fragment stayed in place during striking. Unlike a full cud — which creates a smooth raised blob where the lost die section left a cavity — a retained cud shows the crack line while preserving the original design detail within the fractured piece, because the fragment, though broken free, continued to strike coins from its nearly original position. Cross-referenced as WQC-83P-1 & 2R in the specialized Washington Quarter cud catalog, this variety was documented by the Cuds on Coins research team. The 1983-P quarter was struck during a period when Philadelphia had recently dropped the "P" mintmark experiment introduced in 1980, and production volumes remained high through the clad era. Retained cuds form when the mechanical forces of striking create stress concentrations at the die rim, initiating a crack that propagates along the rim edge but lacks sufficient force to eject the broken piece. The result is a coin that shows evidence of die failure — the visible crack and slight displacement — while retaining recognizable design elements in the affected area, making retained cuds distinct from both pre-cuds and full cuds in the die break progression.

Cross References

• Cross reference number: WQC-83P-1 & 2R. See RCD-25c-1983P-01.

External References