CU-1C-1948D-01 Cud

Description

First documented rim cud for the 1948 Denver Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, this variety was produced during the postwar return to normalcy after the wartime composition experiments of 1943 (steel) and 1944-1946 (recycled shell casings). By 1948, the Mint had resumed standard 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc bronze composition, and Denver struck approximately 172 million cents that year — a moderate production run by postwar standards. A cud forms when a portion of the die rim fractures and breaks away completely, leaving a cavity that fills with metal during striking to produce a raised, featureless mass at the coin's edge. As CU-1C-1948D-01, this is the earliest cataloged rim failure for the 1948-D date, establishing the baseline entry in the Cuds on Coins registry. The 1948-D Wheat Cent was produced at the Denver Mint facility that had been in continuous operation since 1906, processing metal from Colorado and western mining operations. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait on the obverse and the wheat ears reverse by the same designer were approaching their fortieth year, making the Lincoln Cent one of the most enduring designs in American coinage. Cud collectors track these rim failures across all dates and mints to build a comprehensive understanding of die longevity patterns.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Fred Weinberg
• CU-1C-1948D-01
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References