CU-1C-1986-01 Cud

Description

As the first cataloged cud for the 1986 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, CU-1C-1986-01 holds the inaugural position in what would grow into a twenty-variety census of die breaks for this date. The Cuds on Coins catalog assigns sequential numbers based on documentation order, so the 01 designation reflects priority of submission rather than chronological production sequence at the mint. Cross-referenced under its own catalog identifier CU-1C-1986-01, this variety represents a die fracture where a section of hardened steel separated from the obverse die face, leaving a void that subsequently filled with planchet metal during striking. The resulting raised, featureless blob on the coin's surface is the hallmark of a cud — a terminal die state feature that indicates the die had reached or exceeded its working lifespan. Philadelphia's 1986 cent production reached 4,491,395,493 pieces, placing it among the highest annual mintages in Lincoln Memorial cent history. This enormous output required thousands of individual dies, and the statistical inevitability of die fractures within such volume guaranteed a steady supply of cud varieties for collectors to discover. Struck at Philadelphia on copper-plated zinc planchets (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) at 2.5 grams and 19mm.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Joe Koelling
• CU-1C-1986-01
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References