CU-1c-1974-06 Cud

Description

Perhaps the most historically significant cud in the 1974 Philadelphia census, CU-1c-1974-06 is directly linked to one of the rarest error types in the Lincoln cent series: the floating die clash cataloged as FDC-1c-1974-01. The die fragment that broke away at position 06 on the rim did not simply fall out of the press — it remained trapped between the dies long enough to transfer incuse, mirror-image impressions of the motto letters "OD WE" (from IN GOD WE TRUST) onto coins it contacted before being dislodged or the die pair was retired. This makes CU-1c-1974-06 both a cud variety in its own right and the origin die for the floating die clash, connecting two distinct error types through a single catastrophic failure event. Documented by Cuds on Coins, this variety was struck at the Philadelphia Mint without a mint mark as part of the approximately 4.23-billion-piece 1974 production run. The cud itself presents the standard diagnostic features of a rim break: a raised, featureless mass of metal along the affected section of the rim where die steel separated and planchet metal filled the resulting cavity. What elevates CU-1c-1974-06 beyond a routine rim break is its connection to the floating die clash — making it essential context for understanding FDC-1c-1974-01 and the broader narrative of how floating die clashes occur. Collectors who acquire both varieties hold complementary pieces of the same die failure story.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mike Diamond
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References