1971 (D) Kennedy Half Dollar - CU-50c-1971D-01 Rim Cud

Description

First documented rim cud for the 1971 Denver Kennedy Half Dollar (CU-50c-1971D-01), this variety records the loss of part of the die's rim gutter, which appears on the finished coins as a raised interruption in the design rim that tracks the rim's course. No independent cross-references beyond the Cuds on Coins designation have been published. The 1971-D Kennedy Half Dollar carries special significance as the first year of copper-nickel clad composition for the denomination — replacing the 40% silver clad alloy (outer layers of 80% silver/20% copper bonded to a core of 20.9% silver/79.1% copper) that had been used from 1965 through 1970. This compositional transition, mandated by the ongoing removal of silver from United States circulating coinage, meant that the 1971-D half dollar's copper core is visible on the edge as a distinctive copper-colored stripe between the nickel-silver outer layers — a visual marker that immediately distinguishes clad issues from their silver predecessors. The Denver Mint (established as an assay office in 1863, it began striking coins in 1906) struck these half dollars using multi-ton hydraulic presses, and the stress of striking the large 30.61 mm diameter, 11.34 gram planchets placed significant demands on the die steel. Die fractures along the rim typically originate at stress concentrators — microscopic surface defects, grinding marks, or metallurgical inclusions in the die steel — and propagate through repeated impact. Gilroy Roberts's Kennedy obverse and Frank Gasparro's heraldic eagle reverse define the coin. As CU-50c-1971D-01, this is the primary cud entry for the date-mint, visible to the unaided eye and confirmable at low magnification by examining where the raised interruption meets the normal design rim.

Cross References

• CU-50c-1971D-01; number: none.

External References