CU-1c-1982-33(LD) Cud

Description

Bronze counterpart of CU-1c-1982-33(LD), this interior cud at 3.1 grams in the 95% copper alloy with the wider large date numerals adds to the bronze side of a catalog that has now documented over thirty distinct die fractures on the Large Date subtype alone. The accumulation of this many bronze entries carries a secondary historical significance beyond the die failure data itself: each specimen is a physical artifact from the final months of a composition that had defined American one-cent coinage since 1857, when the original large copper cent gave way to the smaller copper-nickel Flying Eagle cent that established the approximate size and weight range the denomination would maintain for over a century. The 95% copper alloy introduced in 1864 for the Indian Head cent and carried forward through the Lincoln series to 1982 represents the longest continuous compositional run in the denomination's history, and every bronze cud from 1982 Philadelphia is a die failure relic from that composition's terminal year. The interior cud on this specimen fills the die void with homogeneous copper-alloy metal whose reddish warmth under original surfaces transitions to chocolate brown as the patina develops. The paired zinc entry documents the same fracture on the successor composition. Attribution by Cuds on Coins.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References