IDB-1c-1957-07 Interior Die Break

Description

Seventh in the interior die break catalog for the 1957 Lincoln Wheat Cent, IDB-1c-1957-07 documents a die fracture within the coin's interior design area rather than at the rim. The relatively high sequence number — seven cataloged interior breaks — likely reflects the enormous 1957 Philadelphia production volume, where extensive die usage increased the statistical probability of interior failures. When a working die develops a crack in the field away from the rim, the fracture permits planchet metal to flow into the gap during striking, producing a raised irregular mark on the finished coin. Unlike rim cuds, which are easily spotted as raised lumps at the coin's edge, interior die breaks can appear anywhere within the design and may require careful scrutiny to identify. Cuds on Coins catalogs these under the IDB prefix to distinguish them from CUD, RCD, and LDB varieties. The 1957 cent was struck on 95% copper planchets at 19mm, in the penultimate year of Wheat Cent production before the Memorial reverse debuted in 1959.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Sean O’Connell
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References