CU-5c-1987P-01 Cud

Description

Documented by Cuds on Coins and cross-referenced as JNC-87P-1 in the Jefferson Nickel Cud catalog, the CU-5c-1987P-01 represents a Stage A cud error on a 1987-P Jefferson Nickel struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Cuds are a distinctive class of major die break where a piece of the die rim fractures and detaches completely, leaving a void in the die face that produces a raised, featureless blob of metal at the edge of struck coins — essentially a retained piece of unstruck planchet metal filling the space where the missing die fragment would have imparted design detail. The CU-5c designation in the Cuds on Coins cataloging system indicates the denomination (5 cents), while 1987P-01 identifies the date, mint, and sequential catalog number for cuds known on this issue. The Stage A designation indicates this is an early die state relative to the cud break, meaning the break may be in its initial form before additional die deterioration enlarged or modified the affected area. Felix Schlag's Jefferson Nickel design was struck in 1987 at the Philadelphia Mint (which resumed using the P mintmark in 1980) in standard copper-nickel composition of 75% copper and 25% nickel, weighing 5.0 grams with a diameter of 21.2 mm. Cuds are among the most visually dramatic die errors, instantly recognizable even without magnification as smooth raised lumps at the coin's rim, and they have sustained collector interest since the earliest systematic cataloging efforts in the 1970s.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Heritage Auction
• Cross reference number: JNC-87P-1
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References