LDB4-1957D-004 BIE Die Break

Description

Cross-referenced under two independent systems — Cohen 57D-B562 and Hardy 57D-4FL+24 — this BIE die break on the 1957-D Lincoln Wheat Cent benefits from triple-sourced attribution that firmly establishes its place in the die break census. The Hardy designation "4FL+" carries specific technical meaning: the "4" indicates the break classification level, "FL" signifies that the break is flush with the highest and lowest levels of the surrounding letters (meaning the BIE bar neither protrudes above nor recedes below the tops and bottoms of the B and E), and the "+" indicates the break extends below the lowest level of the letters — documenting a fracture whose vertical extent exceeds the letter height and continues into the field area beneath. The Cuds on Coins catalog records the discovery date as 07/13/2015. BIE die breaks are unique to Lincoln Cents because only this series features the LIBERTY inscription positioned with the B, I, and E letters arranged such that die steel fatigue in the narrow space between them produces the characteristic vertical bar — a phenomenon driven by the concentration of striking stress in the thin die wall separating adjacent recessed letter cavities. Struck at the Denver Mint in 95% copper / 5% tin-zinc at 3.11 grams, the 1957-D Wheat Cent was part of the series' final two years before the Memorial reverse replaced Victor David Brenner's wheat ear stalks in 1959. The Denver Mint's high 1957-D production volume — over 1 billion pieces — subjected individual dies to enormous cumulative striking loads, accelerating the fatigue cracking that produces BIE breaks and other die failure phenomena in the LIBERTY area. The Cohen cross-reference B562 anchors this variety in the comprehensive Cohen die break catalog that provides the most granular census of Lincoln Cent die failures.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross references: Cohen 57D-B562, Hardy 57D-4FL+24. 07/13/2015.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References