CU-1C-1990-01R Cud

Description

The first cataloged cud for the 1990 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, CU-1C-1990-01R carries the "R" suffix designating a reverse die break — a fracture that developed on the anvil die bearing the Lincoln Memorial design rather than the more commonly affected obverse hammer die. Reverse cuds on Lincoln Memorial cents are inherently less frequent than obverse examples because the anvil die's stress profile differs fundamentally from the hammer die's: the anvil absorbs compressive forces distributed across the full planchet contact area, while the hammer die endures concentrated impact loading that accelerates crack nucleation at stress risers along the rim and at sharp design transitions. When a reverse cud does form, the resulting raised featureless mass appears on the Memorial side, potentially obliterating portions of the columned building facade, the E PLURIBUS UNUM motto, or peripheral lettering — each location producing a visually distinctive error coin. As the inaugural reverse cud for this date, CU-01R establishes a baseline for reverse die failure documentation on 1990 Philadelphia cents. Struck on copper-plated zinc planchets composed of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, weighing 2.5 grams and measuring 19mm.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Keith Christenson
• CU-1C-1990-01R
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References