Pre-Cud (PCD)
A pre-cud is a die crack that runs across the die and meets the rim at both ends, enclosing a section of the die between the crack and the edge. That enclosed section is the piece that would fall out if the die broke there — the shape of a cud waiting to happen. Nothing has broken free yet, and nothing has moved: on the coin, the design on both sides of the crack sits at the same height and in the same position.
The name describes a possibility, not a schedule. Error-Ref, which files it as an arcing rim-to-rim die crack and gives pre-cud as its other name, notes there is no guarantee it ever progresses to a cud. The area it cuts off is generally less than 40% of the die face.
How Does It Happen?
Dies crack under the repeated stress of striking, and a crack can grow across the die face. A pre-cud is the case where the crack curves across the die and meets the rim at both ends, cutting off a section of the die face from the rest.
From there, Error-Ref lists the ways it can go: it may stay a crack, or become a retained cud, a full cud, or an asymmetrical split die. The three crack-and-break outcomes look like this, and only the coin tells you which happened:
- The crack holds. The enclosed section stays bonded to the die. Coins show a raised crack line and a normal design on both sides of it. That is a pre-cud.
- The section breaks free but stays in place. Something holds it — the collar, on the anvil die. Because it is loose, it moves slightly under each strike: it sinks, or slides. Coins show the enclosed area raised as a plateau, or its design out of register with the design next to it. That is a retained cud.
- The section falls out. Metal flows into the empty space, and coins show a raised, featureless lump at the rim. That is a cud.
A die can pass through all three in order, and collectors assemble progression sets that show the same die at each stage. But a pre-cud is not a stage the die must pass through on its way to a cud, and a retained cud is not "a pre-cud that has started to move" — it is a die whose piece has already broken free.
How to Identify a Pre-Cud
- The crack meets the rim at both ends. Follow it with a loupe. A crack that ends in the field, or runs rim to design element, is an ordinary die crack.
- It is raised. A die crack is a fissure in the die, and metal flows into it, so on the coin it stands up as a line. A heavy pre-cud crack can be wide and jagged where the die has spread apart along it. Error-Ref draws the line at half a millimeter: wider than that, it is an asymmetrical split die.
- The design on both sides matches. This is the test. Letters and devices crossed by the crack, or lying either side of it, are at the same height and in line. Check lettering that the crack passes through: on a pre-cud, the two halves of a letter line up.
- No plateau, no step. If the area inside the crack is raised as a block above the rest of the coin, or its design is shifted sideways, the piece is loose, and the coin is a retained cud.
Die Crack, Pre-Cud, Retained Cud or Cud?
| Die crack | Pre-cud | Retained cud | Cud | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The crack | Ends in the field or at the design | Runs rim to rim | Runs rim to rim | Gone — the piece is missing |
| The enclosed piece | — | Still part of the die | Broken free, held in place | Fallen out |
| On the coin | Raised line | Raised line; design normal both sides | Area raised as a plateau, or design offset | Raised, featureless lump at the rim |
| Movement | None | None | Yes — the defining sign | — |
Where to Look
Cuds on Coins lists pre-cuds and retained cuds together, on pages headed "Retained & Pre-Cuds" and under one designator, RCD, which takes in rim-to-rim die cracks and pre-cuds as well as retained cuds. That reflects how closely the two are related and how carefully the attribution has to be made. Error-Ref illustrates a pre-cud on the reverse of a 1985 Lincoln cent that also carries a large cud elsewhere on the same face.
Collecting Tips
- Attribute by the design, not by the crack. A heavy crack looks dramatic, but its size does not decide the attribution. Whether the enclosed design has moved does.
- Look for the same die later. A pre-cud die that kept striking may have gone on to produce retained cuds or cuds. Matching a pre-cud to a later stage of the same die makes a progression, which documents how that die failed.
- Expect claims of "about to break". Sellers describe pre-cuds as cuds in the making. Some were, but nothing guarantees it. Attribute the coin by what it shows.
- Use raking light. A single light from a low angle shows any step between the enclosed area and the rest of the coin — the one thing that separates a pre-cud from a retained cud.