CU-1C-1945S-02 Cud

Description

Second rim cud documented for the 1945 San Francisco Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, this variety dates from the closing months of World War II when the U.S. Mint was still producing cents from recycled brass cartridge cases — a wartime composition that would continue through 1946 before the return to standard bronze. San Francisco's 1945 cent production exceeded 181 million pieces, maintaining the high wartime output levels needed to supply an economy operating at peak capacity. A cud is a type of major die break where a section of the die rim fractures and separates entirely, and the resulting void fills with metal during striking to produce a raised, featureless mass at the coin's edge. The formation of a cud typically begins with stress cracking at the die rim — the area where mechanical forces concentrate during each strike — and progresses through stages visible as die cracks, pre-cuds, and retained cuds before the final separation produces a full cud. Cross-referenced as CU-1C-1945S-02 and cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this early catalog number for the 1945-S date indicates it was among the first rim failures identified for the year. The shell-casing composition cents of 1944-1946 represent a distinct collecting subset within the Lincoln Wheat Cent series, and their die varieties are actively cataloged.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Charity & Chris Welch
• CU-1C-1945S-02
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References