CU-1C-1973-01R Cud

Description

Designated CU-1C-1973-01R in the Cuds on Coins catalog, this is the first documented cud variety for the 1973 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Memorial cent and it occurs on the reverse die, as indicated by the "R" suffix. The Philadelphia Mint produced approximately 3.73 billion cents in 1973 — the highest output of any facility for this date — requiring an enormous number of die pairs operating at sustained high speeds throughout the year. Under such intensive production conditions, die rim failures were an inevitable consequence of cumulative mechanical stress. A cud results when a portion of the die rim fractures completely and separates, creating an unrestricted cavity at the die's periphery. During subsequent strikes, planchet metal flows into this cavity, producing the characteristic raised, featureless mass of metal on the finished coin. CU-1C-1973-01R's reverse location means the cud appears on the Lincoln Memorial side of the coin, potentially affecting portions of the Memorial building, the surrounding inscriptions, or the denomination text, depending on its clock-position. As the first Philadelphia cud cataloged for this date, it establishes the baseline entry in what would grow to at least three documented cud varieties (including two additional entries, -02 and -03). Collectors should note that the "01" in the catalog number reflects the order of submission to the Cuds on Coins service rather than any production sequence, and attribution requires matching the specific clock-position and arc-length of the cud against reference documentation.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jon Rhodes
• CU-1C-1973-01R
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References