CU-1C-1973S-04 Rim Cud

Description

Designated CU-1C-1973S-04 in the Cuds on Coins catalog, this rim cud variety appears on regular strike Lincoln Memorial cents produced at the San Francisco Mint in 1973. A cud is the result of a catastrophic die failure in which a section of the die rim breaks away completely, leaving an open cavity at the die's edge. When a planchet is struck by the damaged die, metal flows into the void unchecked, producing a raised, featureless blob that partially obliterates the normal design elements along that segment of the rim. The catalog number indicates this is the fourth documented cud variety for the 1973-S date, establishing that multiple die failures of this type occurred during San Francisco's production run. As a regular strike issue, CU-1C-1973S-04 entered general circulation rather than being confined to proof collector sets, meaning specimens can surface in circulated grades through roll searching or in dealer inventories. The San Francisco Mint in 1973 produced cents for both circulation and proof purposes, and rim cuds are more commonly associated with the high-speed, high-volume circulation strike production line where dies endured greater cumulative stress per unit time. The specific clock-position, arc-length, and depth of the cud on CU-1C-1973S-04 serve as the primary diagnostics for distinguishing this variety from the other three documented 1973-S cuds. Collectors should examine candidate specimens carefully under magnification, comparing the break's geometry against published reference images to ensure proper attribution. The "Rim Cud" designation in the title emphasizes that the break occurred precisely at the die's rim — the outermost boundary — rather than as an interior die break where a piece of the die face separates but remains partially retained within the die cavity.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Keith Christenson
• CU-1C-1973S-04
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References