CU-1C-1977-13 Cud

Description

Thirteenth in the extensive 1977 Philadelphia cud census, CU-1C-1977-13 continues the documentation of terminal die failures from one of the most productive years in Lincoln cent coinage history. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this variety records a rim break on a die used to strike cents at the Philadelphia Mint — a facility operating at near-maximum capacity during 1977 to meet the persistent demand for circulating small change. The high-speed presses at Philadelphia ran continuously throughout the production year, and each die pair endured hundreds of thousands of strikes before being pulled for routine replacement or failure. When a die developed a rim crack that propagated to full separation, the resulting cud entered the production stream and was mixed in with normal coins for distribution into general circulation. Thirteen cuds from a single date-mint combination demonstrates the sheer scale of die consumption during peak production periods. CU-1C-1977-13 is distinguished from its twelve predecessors and two successors by the unique geometry of its rim break — the precise angular location, the arc-length of the separated fragment, and the design elements affected all serve as identifying diagnostics. Like all 1977 Philadelphia cents, this variety was struck without a mint mark from 95% copper planchets. Attribution by Cuds on Coins.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• CU-1C-1977-13
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References