DC-1c-2004D-01R Die Chip

Description

Documenting the first reverse die chip for the 2004 Denver Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent, this variety records a minor die surface fracture from the penultimate decade of Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse design, which would end production in 2008 after nearly fifty years of continuous use. A die chip forms when localized stress within the die face causes a small fragment of die steel to fracture and separate from the surface. The void created by the missing fragment fills with metal during striking, producing a small raised bump on the finished coin. Die chips are distinguished from die cracks, which leave linear raised lines, and from cuds, which involve larger rim fractures. The "01R" designation identifies this as the first reverse die chip cataloged for the 2004-D date in the Cuds on Coins system. Denver's cent production in 2004 was substantial — part of the steady high-volume output that characterized early 2000s coinage before the 2009 bicentennial design changes. Reverse die chips on Memorial Cents can appear within the detailed architectural rendering of the Memorial or in the surrounding legend and field areas, each position creating a diagnostically distinct variety.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Richard Dryden
• Cross reference number: none. 08/10/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References