PC-25c-2005P-05R(WV) Pre-Cud

Description

Fifth reverse pre-cud identified on the 2005 Philadelphia West Virginia State Quarter, PC-25c-2005P-05R(WV) was cataloged by the Cuds on Coins attribution service as part of a growing census of die failure stages on this issue from the 50 State Quarters Program. The existence of five documented reverse pre-cuds for a single date-mint-design combination indicates that die cracking was a notable occurrence during production, likely influenced by the complexity of John Mercanti's reverse design depicting the New River Gorge Bridge with its intricate steel arch structure and mountain landscape. Complex reverse designs with significant depth variation across the die face can create multiple stress concentration points where cracks may initiate, and the bridge's detailed span provides exactly this kind of relief differential. Philadelphia produced approximately 365.4 million West Virginia quarters in 2005, and pre-cuds represent the earliest detectable stage in the rim-connected die crack progression — the crack exists in the die and transfers as a raised hairline on struck coins, but no metal displacement has yet occurred. This distinguishes pre-cuds from the more visually dramatic retained cuds and full cuds where the broken die section has deflected or separated, creating raised masses of displaced metal. Finding all five reverse pre-cuds for the 2005-P West Virginia quarter would allow a collector to compare crack initiation points across different dies, revealing whether the same areas of Mercanti's design consistently served as failure origins or whether cracks initiated at random rim locations. Detection requires methodical rim-area examination under 10-15x magnification with raking light to reveal the fine raised line extending from the rim into the design field.

External References