CU-1C-1985-04 Cud

Description

Every die at the Philadelphia Mint follows a lifecycle from fresh installation through progressive deterioration to eventual retirement, and CU-1C-1985-04 on the 1985 Lincoln Memorial cent captures one die's terminal event. A cud represents the most dramatic form of die failure — not a gradual wearing of design detail or the formation of fine cracks, but an outright structural collapse where a portion of the die face separates completely. In the lifecycle of a typical cent die at Philadelphia during the mid-1980s, production runs could exceed 500,000 impressions before replacement. The die progresses through identifiable stages: early die state with sharp detail and minimal marks, mid-die state with developing flow lines and minor cracks, late die state with significant deterioration, and finally terminal events like cuds that force immediate removal. CU-04 documents one such terminal event within the 1985 Philadelphia production sequence. The Cuds on Coins catalog assigns sequential numbers as varieties are reported and confirmed, so the CU-04 designation reflects the order of documentation rather than the chronological order of die failures during the production year. Struck on copper-plated zinc planchets at 2.5 grams and 19mm from the 1985 mintage of approximately 5.65 billion cents.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Joe Koelling
• CU-1C-1985-04; number: none
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References