LDB4-1954S-005K BIE Die Break

Description

Documented by Cuds on Coins and cross-referenced as Cohen 54S-B206, Hardy 54S-4BL+3, and CONECA 1954-S RPM-004 stage K, the LDB4-1954S-005K is a BIE die break variety on the 1954-S Lincoln Wheat Cent. BIE die breaks are a distinctive class of die deterioration where a small die chip or crack between the letters B, I, and E in LIBERTY creates a raised vertical line on struck coins that resembles an extra letter I between two of these letters — the term “BIE” referring to the location between these specific letters where the phenomenon most commonly occurs. The extensive cross-reference documentation connects this variety to multiple cataloging systems: Cohen’s 54S-B206 designation, Hardy’s 54S-4BL+3 classification, and notably CONECA’s 1954-S RPM-004 stage K, indicating this BIE die break occurs on a die that also carries a repunched mintmark variety at its K die state. Commentary notes that Cohen maintains a list of her Stages 1 through 6 in the Double Mint Mark listing as 54S-DM1 through 54S-DM5 and 54S-BA206a and 54S-B206b, and that the reverse die changed with Stage I — documenting a die re-pairing event during this obverse die’s production run. The 1954-S Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck at the San Francisco Mint in 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 3.11 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse portrait, and the wheat ears reverse was in its forty-sixth year. The co-occurrence of a BIE die break with an RPM on the same die at a specific stage creates a multi-feature variety that documents both die deterioration and the original mintmark application error on a single coin.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross references: Cohen 54S-B206, Hardy 54S-4BL+3 and CONECA 1954-S RPM-004 stage K.  11/07/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References