1983 (P) Kennedy Half Dollar - CU-50c-1983P-04 Rim Cud

Description

Fourth rim cud cataloged for the 1983 Philadelphia Kennedy Half Dollar (CU-50c-1983P-04), this entry documents yet another die fracture event on the 1983-P production run — a date that evidently consumed working dies at a rate that produced multiple documented rim breaks. The existence of at least four distinct rim cuds (01 through 04) for a single date-mint combination on the Kennedy Half Dollar indicates either an aggressive production schedule that stressed dies to their fatigue limits, metallurgical issues in the die steel batch, or simply the statistical outcome of a large number of working dies in service during the production period. No independent cross-references beyond the Cuds on Coins designation exist. Each of the documented cuds represents a separate die that fractured independently, and the specific location, angular extent, and shape of each cud differs according to the unique stress fracture path in each individual die. Gilroy Roberts's Kennedy portrait obverse and Frank Gasparro's heraldic eagle reverse compose the design, struck in copper-nickel clad composition at 11.34 grams and 30.61 mm diameter. The large flan size makes rim cuds on half dollars visually dramatic: each represents the loss of part of the die's rim gutter, leaving an unmistakable raised interruption in the design rim that tracks the rim's course. Examination at low magnification (2x to 5x) reveals the fracture boundary clearly, while comparison against the other 1983-P entries (CU-50c-1983P-01 through -08) allows differentiation between the documented breaks.

Cross References

• CU-50c-1983P-04; number: none.

External References