2010 (P) Lincoln Shield Cent - UDC 001

Description

First unusual die crack cataloged on the 2010 Philadelphia Lincoln Shield Cent — part of the inaugural year for Lyndall Bass's Union Shield reverse design that replaced the Lincoln Memorial after fifty-one years. Unusual die cracks (UDCs) follow paths across the die surface that deviate from the typical radial patterns die cracks normally follow as they propagate from the rim inward or between design elements along stress lines. Standard die cracks tend to travel predictable paths along the weakest points of the die — between closely spaced letters, from the rim through high-relief design elements, or along the boundary between fields and devices. UDCs instead meander along unexpected trajectories, sometimes crossing open fields at unusual angles, branching in atypical directions, or connecting design elements that are not adjacent. The 2010 Shield Cent was the first regular-issue year for Bass's design (after the four 2009 Bicentennial reverses), and the new die configuration with its prominent horizontal shield lines created different stress distribution patterns than the familiar Memorial reverse. Struck on copper-plated zinc at 19mm with Brenner's century-old Lincoln portrait on the obverse, now paired with a reverse explicitly evoking Civil War-era Union symbolism. Examine the coin for die crack evidence following an unusual path that distinguishes it from the standard radial crack patterns typically seen on Lincoln Cents.

Attribution History

• Discovered by BrandonDealer