CU-1C-1944S-15 Cud

Description

Fifteenth documented cud for the 1944 San Francisco Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, this rim die break was produced during the first year that recycled brass shell casings replaced the standard bronze composition. After the 1943 steel cent experiment, the Mint switched to spent cartridge cases — a copper alloy with trace zinc and tin — that gave 1944-1946 cents a slightly different color than pre-war or post-war issues. The San Francisco Mint struck over 282 million cents in 1944, a wartime production surge that consumed substantial numbers of die pairs. A cud forms when a section of the die rim fractures and separates completely, and the void left behind fills with metal during striking to produce a raised featureless blob at the coin's edge. Fifteen cuds from a single date and mint indicates that die rim stress remained a persistent issue even after the return from steel planchets, though the softer brass composition likely reduced die wear compared to the 1943 steel. Cross-referenced as CU-1C-1944S-15 and cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this variety belongs to a transitional production period in Lincoln Cent history that is often overlooked between the famous 1943 steel cents and the return to standard bronze in 1947.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• CU-1C-1944S-15
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References