RCD-1c-1971D-01 Retained Cud

Description

Cataloged as RCD-1c-1971D-01, this retained cud on the 1971-D Lincoln Memorial cent documents a die failure mechanically related to — but visually distinct from — the standard cuds cataloged under the CU prefix for this date. A retained cud occurs when the die steel fractures at the rim in the same manner as a conventional cud, but the broken fragment does not fully separate from the die body. Instead, it remains loosely in place, shifting slightly with each strike to produce a raised area on the coin that differs in character from both the featureless blob of a full cud and the undisturbed surface of an intact die. Coins struck from a retained cud die often show a slightly raised, irregularly textured zone where the loose fragment transferred an imperfect impression — sometimes with partial design detail, sometimes with a rough or distorted surface that reflects the fragment's imprecise seating. No cross-references to other attribution systems have been established for this variety, and no additional comments are recorded in the catalog. As the sole retained cud documented for the 1971-D date, RCD-1c-1971D-01 stands apart from the multiple conventional cuds in the CU-1C-1971D sequence by illustrating an alternative outcome of the same underlying failure mechanism. The distinction between a retained cud and a full cud is often a matter of fracture geometry and fragment adhesion — the same die crack that produces a clean separation in one case may leave a fragment partially attached in another, depending on crack orientation, die temperature, and the forces acting on the fragment during subsequent strikes.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Cross reference: none. 12/19/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References