2005 (P) Lincoln Memorial Cent - RIDB-1c-2005-01 Retained Interior Die Break

Description

Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, the RIDB-1c-2005-01 records the first documented retained interior die break on the 2005 Lincoln Memorial Cent from the Philadelphia Mint — a date from the final years of Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse before its replacement by four bicentennial designs in 2009. Retained interior die breaks occur when a section of die steel fractures within the design field rather than at the rim, with the broken fragment remaining trapped in position by surrounding die material. The result on struck coins is a raised irregular outline enclosing an area of slightly altered detail where the trapped fragment may have shifted during the striking process. The 2005 Lincoln Memorial Cent was produced in the zinc-core copper-plated composition, and the Philadelphia Mint's high-volume production generated substantial die usage. Interior die breaks provide insight into the internal stress distribution within dies, as fractures that initiate away from the rim indicate that stress concentrations can develop at multiple points throughout the die body, not only at the vulnerable rim edges where cuds and pre-cuds typically form.

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