CU-1C-1917S-01R Cud

Description

Cataloged as CU-1C-1917S-01R, this is the first documented rim cud on the 1917 San Francisco Lincoln Wheat cent — the opening entry in what became one of the most cud-rich date-and-mint combinations in the entire Wheat cent series. At least ten cuds have been cataloged for the 1917-S alone, an extraordinary concentration reflecting the production pressures that wartime demand placed on branch mint die shops. The United States entered World War I in April 1917, and the San Francisco Mint, operating over two thousand miles from the Philadelphia hub of die manufacture, faced chronic challenges in die supply logistics. When dies cracked during use, replacement shipments could take weeks by rail, encouraging continued use of deteriorating dies. A cud forms when a section of the die rim fractures and separates, leaving a void that produces a raised, featureless blob of metal on struck coins — the "R" suffix in the catalog number denotes a rim break. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait, then in only its ninth year of production, appears on the obverse, while the wheat stalks frame ONE CENT on the reverse. The 01R designation marks this as the baseline entry for the date.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Fred Weinberg
• CU-1C-1917S-01R
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References