CU-1C-1990-05R Cud

Description

The second reverse cud cataloged for the 1990 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, CU-1C-1990-05R joins CU-01R in documenting die breaks on the Memorial side of the coin. With two reverse cuds among the first five catalog entries for this date, the 1990 Philadelphia production run shows a higher-than-typical ratio of reverse-to-obverse cud failures. While most dates in the Lincoln Memorial series are dominated by obverse cuds — reflecting the hammer die's greater vulnerability to impact-induced fatigue cracking — dates that produce multiple reverse cuds suggest either specific reverse die steel quality issues, unusually high striking pressures, or simply the statistical variation inherent in any population of die failures. Reverse cuds on Lincoln Memorial cents interact distinctively with the architectural design: depending on the fracture's position, a reverse cud might obliterate one or more of the twelve columns, a section of the entablature, the staircase, or the peripheral UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ONE CENT inscriptions. Each position produces a different visual effect, making reverse cuds from the same date individually distinctive. Struck at Philadelphia 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 Chuck Newman
• CU-1C-1990-05R
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References