LDB5-1955D-001 BIE Die Break

Description

Recorded on November 13, 2015 in the Cuds on Coins catalog, the LDB5-1955D-001 is a BIE die break on the 1955 Denver Mint Lincoln Wheat cent. BIE die breaks are a distinctive category of minor die break specific to Lincoln cents, where a small fracture between the B and E of LIBERTY creates a raised vertical mark resembling the letter I, producing the visual effect of B-I-E instead of B-E. These breaks became a popular collecting specialty because they occur with regularity across the long-running Lincoln cent series and are easily spotted with the unaided eye. Cross-referenced to the Hardy catalog as 55D-5SDL, this variety is not listed in Cohen. A note accompanies this attribution suggesting it could represent a different stage of Hardy's 55D-5SMul-1, and an example of that die is needed for comparison to resolve the question. This uncertainty highlights the challenge of distinguishing separate die breaks from progressive stages of the same break. The 1955-D Lincoln Wheat cent was produced in the penultimate year of the Wheat reverse design, and BIE varieties from the final Wheat cent years are pursued by specialists completing die break inventories of the series.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross references: Cohen Not Listed, Hardy 55D-5SDL. 11/13/2015.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References