CU-1C-1970S-04 Cud

Description

Fourth in the cuds-on-coins catalog for the 1970-S Lincoln Memorial cent, CU-1C-1970S-04 documents another obverse die break on a Large Date business strike. With four numbered cud varieties now cataloged (plus the reverse cud CU-03R), the 1970-S date has accumulated a meaningful count of documented die fractures that collectively illustrate the mechanical toll exacted by San Francisco's production demands. Each cud represents a die that fractured during active service — a fragment of hardened tool steel separating from the die body under the cumulative stress of thousands of striking cycles. The void left by the departed fragment fills with planchet metal during each subsequent strike, producing the characteristic raised, shapeless blob that defines a cud. CU-1C-1970S-04's specific break profile — its angular location on the rim, its extent into the design, and the contour of the fracture boundary — distinguishes it from every other cataloged 1970-S cud and connects every affected coin to a single parent die. For collectors, the appeal of cuds lies in their visual drama and their narrative power: each one tells a story of a die that failed under pressure, continued to strike coins in its damaged state, and produced artifacts of that failure that survive decades later as collectible varieties.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• CU-1C-1970S-04
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References