RIDB-1c-1960-03(LD) (LD) Retained Interior Die Break

Description

Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with the cross reference date of January 16, 2017, RIDB-1c-1960-03(LD) on the 1960 Lincoln Memorial Cent Large Date documents a retained interior die break — a category of die failure where a fragment of the die's surface cracks and partially separates from the die face but remains held in place rather than falling away entirely. When a die develops an interior crack that outlines a discrete area of the die surface, the enclosed fragment can shift slightly while staying attached, causing the corresponding area on struck coins to appear raised, sunken, or distorted relative to the surrounding design. The "retained" designation distinguishes this error from a full cud, where the die fragment breaks away completely and leaves a blank, unstruck area on the coin. In fact, this same die is also documented with a companion cud listing — RIDB-1c-1960-03(LD) Cud — representing the progression from retained break to full separation. The Large Date regular strike designation places this coin in the first production phase at Philadelphia, where business strike dies could remain in service for hundreds of thousands of impressions, providing ample opportunity for progressive die deterioration. No other cross-references have been assigned, and collectors interested in die failure progression may seek both the retained break and cud stages from this same die.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross reference: none. 01/16/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References