CU-5c-1985P-03 Cud

Description

Third documented cud on the 1985 Philadelphia Jefferson Nickel, CU-5c-1985P-03 records a major die break at the rim where a section of the die fractured and separated completely, leaving a raised featureless blob of metal at the coin's edge. Cross-referenced as JNC-85P-2 in the Jefferson Nickel Cud numbering system, the dual catalog designation confirms recognition across both the Cuds on Coins registry and the JNC framework maintained for Jefferson Nickel specialists. Cuds form when stress concentrations at the die's periphery — where the flat field meets the raised rim — exceed the die steel's fracture toughness, causing a piece to break away entirely. Once separated, the void in the die fills with metal during subsequent strikes, producing the characteristic raised, design-free area that distinguishes cuds from retained interior die breaks where the fractured piece remains loosely in place. Philadelphia struck approximately 647 million nickels in 1985, a robust output that required hundreds of obverse and reverse dies operating across multiple high-speed coining presses. The "-03" suffix in the catalog number indicates this is the third distinct cud documented on 1985-P nickel dies, separate from CU-5c-1985P-01 and CU-5c-1985P-02, each representing an independent die fracture event. Cuds on Coins cataloged this variety as part of their comprehensive registry of major die breaks across all denominations.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Cross reference: JNC-85P-2.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References