CU-10c-1943-01R Cud

Description

First cataloged reverse cud for the 1943 Mercury Dime in the Cuds on Coins registry, this variety documents a retained die break along the rim where a fragment of the die face fractured away, leaving a raised blob of unstruck metal on the finished coin. Cuds form when fatigue cracks propagate from the die's edge inward until a wedge-shaped piece detaches — the unrestrained metal then fills the resulting void during striking, creating the characteristic raised lump extending from the rim. The 1943 Mercury Dime was produced during World War II with standard 90% silver composition at a weight of 2.50 grams, as the dime's small size and silver content kept it exempt from the wartime metal substitutions applied to cents and nickels. Adolph Weinman's Mercury (Winged Liberty Head) design, produced from 1916 through 1945, features a fasces reverse whose compact elements provide clear reference geometry for documenting cud positions. The catalog designation CU-10c-1943-01R identifies this as the first cud recorded for this date on the reverse, establishing its place in the systematic documentation of retained die breaks across the Mercury Dime series.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References