RIDB-1c-1968D-01 Retained Interior Die Break

Description

Cataloged as RIDB-1c-1968D-01, this is the first documented retained interior die break on the 1968-D Lincoln Memorial cent. Unlike a cud, which forms when a fragment of the die rim completely separates from the die body, a retained interior die break occurs when a section of the die face fractures but remains held in position by surrounding die steel or by the collar. The broken fragment shifts slightly under striking pressure, creating a raised area on the finished coin that is bounded by a visible die crack tracing the fracture line. The result is a distinctive sunken or elevated zone within the coin's design field, surrounded by a thin raised ridge that maps the exact perimeter of the fracture. Retained interior die breaks are generally scarcer than rim cuds because interior fractures are less likely to remain stable — the fragment often falls out completely, converting the retained break into a full interior cud, or it shifts so dramatically that the die is immediately retired. The 1968-D cent was struck at the Denver Mint during the first year that mint marks reappeared on U.S. coinage after the three-year Coinage Act of 1965 prohibition. No additional cross-reference number has been assigned. Attributed by Cuds on Coins. Struck on a 3.11-gram, 19mm planchet of 95% copper and 5% zinc at the Denver Mint.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Vivien Bullard
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References