IDB-1c-1955-01 Interior Die Break

Description

Cataloged by Cuds on Coins as IDB-1c-1955-01, this interior die break on the 1955 Philadelphia Lincoln Wheat Cent documents a fracture within the die face rather than at the rim — distinguishing it from the more common rim cuds. Interior die breaks create raised, irregular areas of unstruck metal within the coin's design field, and this specimen exhibits both a fully separated interior break and a retained interior break where the die fragment cracked but remained partially attached. The dual nature — fully detached in one area and retained in another — provides a valuable study in die fracture mechanics, illustrating how a single failure event produces different surface effects depending on the completeness of separation. The 1955 Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck during the penultimate year of Victor David Brenner's wheat ears reverse, and die failures on this late Wheat Cent provide evidence of manufacturing stresses at the Philadelphia Mint during high-volume production. Interior die breaks are less commonly documented than rim cuds, making this specimen noteworthy within the broader die break taxonomy.

Attribution History

• The interior die break is indicated with green arrows. The retained interior die break is indicated with white arrows. Cross reference number: See IDB-1c-1955-01.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References