CU-1C-2020-01 Cud

Description

First documented cud for the 2020 Philadelphia Lincoln Shield Cent, this variety carries the catalog designation CU-1C-2020-01. The 2020 production year coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted Mint operations and briefly created a national coin circulation shortage. Despite these disruptions, Philadelphia maintained substantial cent output, and the normal attrition of working dies continued to produce occasional rim failures. A cud begins as an invisible internal stress fracture in the die steel, often initiated by a microscopic flaw in the metal or by the cumulative shock of thousands of high-tonnage strikes. The fracture slowly extends toward the rim with each additional strike until the enclosed section detaches. The resulting void in the die creates a corresponding raised area on every coin subsequently struck — a smooth, design-free plateau bounded by the coin's rim on one side and the jagged fracture line on the other. Collectors cataloging cuds note both the clock position and angular extent of the break, characteristics that uniquely identify each cud die within the CudsOnCoins reference system.

Attribution History

• CU-1C-2020-01
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References