CU-1C-1994-03 Cud

Description

Every cud tells a story about where in a die's life cycle the rim fracture occurred, and CU-1C-1994-03 — an obverse cud on the 1994 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent cataloged by Cuds on Coins — is no exception. A die that develops a cud early in its service produces many cud-bearing coins before retirement, making specimens relatively available. A die that fractures near the end of its run yields far fewer examples, and the resulting variety may prove scarce. Mint quality control adds another variable: a cud discovered during inspection triggers immediate die replacement, while one that goes undetected allows continued production. The 1994-P date, with approximately 6.50 billion cents from thousands of die pairs, subjected each die to hundreds of thousands of impressions. Copper-plated zinc planchets introduced in 1982 changed the stress profile, as the zinc core deforms differently than solid bronze and the thin copper plating creates a bimetallic interface with a distinct impact dynamic. Seven documented cuds for this date and mint attest to the frequency of rim failures. Cross-referenced as CU-1C-1994-03.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• CU-1C-1994-03
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References