DC-1c-1958-04 Die Chip

Description

Fourth documented die chip for the 1958 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, cataloged by the Cuds on Coins research team on September 15, 2016 with the cross-reference notation "None Noted," indicating no corresponding listing existed in other variety catalogs at that time. The 1958 date represents the final year of the Lincoln Wheat Cent's nearly half-century production run, as the following year would see Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial reverse replace Victor David Brenner's iconic wheat ear design. Philadelphia struck approximately 252.5 million Wheat Cents in this farewell year, and the dies used to produce these coins endured standard production stresses that generated die chips — small fragments of hardened die steel fracturing away from the die face to leave cavities that produce raised bumps on struck coins. Four documented die chips for the 1958-P Wheat Cent establishes a modest but meaningful catalog for the final Philadelphia Mint production year, and these late-issue Wheat Cents are frequently examined by variety hunters who recognize the sentimental and numismatic significance of the series' conclusion. Die chips on Wheat Cents are cataloged separately from the more dramatic cuds and die breaks because they represent a distinct scale of die deterioration — typically smaller in area and affecting individual design elements rather than the broader rim or field areas that cuds and breaks encompass. Each documented die chip adds to the comprehensive die study record for Lincoln Wheat Cents.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross reference: None Noted. 09/15/2016.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References