IDB-1c-2020-03 Interior Die Break

Description

Third cataloged interior die break for the 2020 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Shield Cent, documenting another instance where a fragment of the die face fractured and detached entirely within the design area without connecting to the rim. The presence of multiple interior die breaks cataloged for the same date and mint suggests either particularly intensive die usage during 2020 production or metallurgical characteristics of the specific die steel batch that made interior fractures more likely than rim-connected failures. Interior die breaks produce raised irregular shapes on the struck coin — the freed metal fills the void left by the missing die fragment during each impression, creating a distinctive raised plateau whose outline maps the exact geometry of the fracture. Philadelphia Mint, zinc-core copper-plated composition. The Cuds on Coins registry assigns sequential IDB numbers to track these varieties as they are reported, with the progression from IDB-02 to IDB-03 for the same date reflecting ongoing collector discoveries. Modern die break research benefits from digital photography and online reporting systems that accelerate documentation compared to earlier decades when discoveries traveled primarily through print publications.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Matthew Vallee
• Cross reference: None. 08/21/2023.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References