LDB4-1957-002 BIE Die Break

Description

Second BIE die break cataloged for the 1957 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, this variety carries the Hardy cross-reference 57P-4EL+36, a detailed positional code that places the fracture at position 4 within LIBERTY, in the E-to-L lower zone, with the numeric suffix 36 distinguishing it from other breaks at the same general position. Cohen lists this variety as Not Listed, meaning it had not been assigned a formal Cohen number at the time of reporting on July 17, 2015. Philadelphia's 1957 cent production, while not as voluminous as Denver's billion-plus output that year, was nonetheless substantial, generating hundreds of millions of coins from numerous die pairs. Each pair experienced the cumulative stress of millions of striking cycles, and the thin die metal separating the deeply recessed letter cavities in LIBERTY was among the first areas to fracture. As the second documented Philadelphia BIE for 1957, this variety represents an early contribution to what would become a growing census as collectors examined additional Philadelphia-mint rolls from this date. The 1957-P Wheat Cent was the penultimate Philadelphia-mint issue before the 1959 transition to the Memorial Cent reverse. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, LDB4-1957-002 helps establish the baseline count of Philadelphia-mint BIE varieties for a date where the Denver counterpart has yielded over one hundred documented breaks.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross references: Cohen Not Listed, Hardy 57P-4EL+36. 07/17/2015.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References