PC-1c-1948-01R Pre-Cud

Description

Opening the reverse pre-cud census for the 1948 Lincoln wheat cent, PC-1c-1948-01R marks the first cataloged instance of an early-stage die rim fracture on Victor David Brenner's reverse for this early postwar date. Philadelphia struck approximately 317.6 million cents in 1948, a production level that had normalized from the extreme wartime volumes but still required substantial die inventories operating through extended press runs. The 1948 cent returned to the standard 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc bronze composition after the wartime and immediate postwar alloy experiments (steel in 1943, shell case brass in 1944-1946), meaning the planchet hardness and striking characteristics reverted to the properties that Mint die makers had calibrated for since the denomination's inception. The Cuds on Coins attribution service documented this variety following their standard PC-denomination-date-number-side format, with 01R establishing it as the inaugural reverse pre-cud entry for the 1948 date. As a pre-cud, the die crack had advanced enough to produce a detectable surface anomaly — a slightly raised zone along the rim where the fractured die steel began to deform under striking pressure — but had not progressed to the retained cud or full cud stage where the fragment separates enough to create a raised featureless mass. The wheat ear reverse design concentrates fine detail near the rim, with grain heads and the upper motto E PLURIBUS UNUM approaching the periphery closely enough that early die fractures in these zones produce visible distortion of the design elements overlying the crack. Collectors should examine the reverse rim under 7-10x magnification, noting that the 01R designation means this is currently the only documented reverse pre-cud for the date, making specimens that confirm or extend this variety particularly valuable to the census.

Attribution History

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

External References