PC-1c-1938-01R Pre-Cud

Description

First reverse pre-cud cataloged for the 1938 Lincoln wheat cent by the Cuds on Coins attribution service, PC-1c-1938-01R captures the incipient stage of die rim failure on a late Depression-era cent production die. Pre-cuds occur when the working die develops a crack at or near the rim — the area of maximum stress concentration during striking — but the cracked portion remains attached to the die body rather than breaking away to create a full retained cud. The 01R designation indicates this is the first documented reverse pre-cud for the 1938 date, suggesting that either fewer dies experienced rim fracturing this year or fewer examples have been reported compared to dates with higher pre-cud counts. Philadelphia struck approximately 156.7 million Lincoln cents in 1938, a mintage reflecting the continued economic recovery from the Depression's worst years. Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait of Abraham Lincoln paired with the wheat ears reverse designed for the series' 1909 launch, and by 1938 both hubs had been in continuous use for nearly three decades — though individual working dies were replaced regularly as they wore out. The rim of a coin die endures the highest compressive forces during each strike, as the collar confines the planchet and redirects metal flow while the die's peripheral design elements compress the planchet edge into its final form. This repeated stress cycling eventually nucleates fatigue cracks in the die steel, and a pre-cud captures the moment between crack initiation and structural failure. On the struck coin, the pre-cud appears as a slightly raised, often irregular area at the rim where the cracked die section has shifted fractionally under striking pressure, creating a subtle but detectable anomaly that experienced collectors can identify under 5-10x magnification by comparing the rim profile against normal specimens from the same date.

External References