CU-5c-1971D-02 Cud

Description

Cataloged by the Cuds on Coins reference as CU-5c-1971D-02, this 1971-D Jefferson Nickel exhibits a cud error — a major die break at the rim where a piece of the die fractured and fell away entirely, leaving a void in the die face that produced a raised, featureless blob of metal at the corresponding edge of every coin struck afterward. The comments note that JNC file numbers reference the Thurman and Margolis Cud Book, connecting this variety to one of the foundational reference works for cud classification on Jefferson Nickels. Cuds develop when accumulated stress in the die steel, concentrated at the rim area where the die face meets its collar-facing edge, causes a fracture that propagates until a section of the die separates completely. Unlike retained cuds where the broken piece stays in place, a full cud produces a completely blank raised area with no design detail, bounded by the coin's rim on one side and the fracture line on the other. The Jefferson Nickel was designed by Felix Schlag, with Thomas Jefferson's portrait on the obverse and his Monticello estate on the reverse. Struck at the Denver Mint in 1971 in standard copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel) weighing 5.00 grams with a diameter of 21.21 mm, the 1971-D nickel was produced during a period of high circulating coinage demand. The second cataloged cud for the 1971-D nickel (the -02 suffix) indicates that at least two different cud-producing die breaks have been documented for this date-mint combination. The Thurman and Margolis Cud Book reference provides historical documentation linking this variety to the systematic cataloging of Jefferson Nickel cuds that helped establish standardized cud identification nomenclature across the denomination.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References