CU-1C-1917S-05R Cud

Description

Fifth in the 1917-S rim cud sequence, CU-1C-1917S-05R adds another data point to the remarkable cluster of die failures documented for this World War I-era San Francisco cent. The Lincoln Wheat cent design was still relatively young in 1917 — introduced in 1909, it had been in production for only eight years when these dies entered wartime service. Victor David Brenner's portrait carried fine detail in the hair, beard, and coat that demanded precise die manufacture to render faithfully. As dies deteriorated through use, these fine details softened first, but structural failures like rim breaks represented a more dramatic mode of degradation. A cud-producing fracture typically begins as a fine die crack, often visible on coins struck before full separation occurs, then progresses until a rim segment detaches entirely. Coins struck after separation display the characteristic raised, shapeless mass of metal where the missing fragment once stood — a blank plateau surrounded by normal design elements. Collecting the full sequence of 1917-S cuds allows a researcher to map fracture patterns across multiple dies from a single production run.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Fred Weinberg
• CU-1C-1917S-05R
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References