CU-25c-2005P-04R(WV) Cud

Description

Fourth documented reverse cud for the 2005 Philadelphia Mint West Virginia State Quarter, this variety preserves a major die failure where a section of the reverse die rim broke away, creating the raised featureless mass at the coin's edge that defines a cud error. When a piece of the die rim separates completely, the resulting void fills with metal on each subsequent strike, producing a raised blob that obliterates the design in the affected area. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, the "(WV)" designation identifies West Virginia's New River Gorge Bridge design as the specific reverse on which this cud appears. Four documented reverse cuds for the West Virginia quarter — compared to sixteen on the same date and mint — suggests that either additional cuds await discovery or that the higher-numbered examples represent different die pairs or die states of the same failure. The State Quarters program generated unprecedented public interest in quarter varieties, with millions of Americans actively examining their change for errors during the program's 1999-2008 run. West Virginia, released as the third quarter of 2005, features John Flanagan's Washington obverse paired with a reverse depicting the New River Gorge Bridge amid Appalachian mountain scenery. The Philadelphia Mint struck hundreds of millions of West Virginia quarters, consuming many die pairs and creating ample statistical opportunity for rim fractures to develop under the mechanical stress of high-speed production.

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