RCD-10c-1928D-01R Retained Cud

Description

Adolph Weinman's Winged Liberty dime — widely known as the Mercury Dime — displays a retained cud on this 1928 Denver Mint specimen, cataloged as RCD-10c-1928D-01R. A retained cud differs from a full cud in a critical mechanical way: the die rim has cracked and a section has begun to separate, but the broken fragment remains partially attached, held in place by friction or residual steel connections. This incomplete separation produces a distinctive effect on the struck coin — a raised area with partial design detail rather than the featureless blob of a full cud, often accompanied by rim displacement. On this variety, vertical displacement appears on the rim and above MER in AMERICA on the reverse, indicating that the retained die fragment shifted during striking, distorting the adjacent lettering and rim profile. The 1928 Denver issue had a mintage of 4,161,000 pieces, a modest figure that limits the surviving population of any die-specific variety. Retained cuds on Mercury Dimes from branch mints carry particular appeal because the combination of Weinman's elegant design with visible die failure creates a striking visual contrast.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Paul Engelbrecht
• Cross reference: none. 02/26/2019.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References