CU-1C-2021-01R Cud

Description

Inaugurating the reverse cud census for the 2021-P Lincoln Shield cent, CU-1C-2021-01R was entered into the Cuds on Coins database on January 14, 2022, less than a year after the coins were struck. No additional cross-references with other cataloging systems had been established at the time of listing. Philadelphia produced approximately 3.4 billion cents in 2021, a colossal output that reflects the ongoing demand for the one-cent denomination despite periodic debate about its economic viability. The Lincoln Shield cent reverse, designed by Lyndall Bass and introduced in 2010, features a Union shield with horizontal and vertical lines representing the states and federal government -- a design significantly different from the preceding Lincoln Memorial reverse that had been in use since 1959. The shield's geometric precision creates a reverse where cuds are particularly noticeable because the straight lines and regular patterns of the shield provide a stark contrast with the amorphous, featureless cud mass. The "01R" designation indicates this is the first documented reverse rim cud for the 2021-P issue, establishing the baseline entry in what may eventually grow to include additional reverse and obverse cuds as more specimens are discovered and submitted. Modern cent production uses zinc planchets with a thin copper plating, a composition adopted in 1982 that creates different die wear dynamics compared to the earlier solid bronze alloy. The zinc core is softer than bronze but the copper plating can create localized stress variations at the die surface, and the extremely high production volumes ensure that even small die failure probabilities translate into tangible numbers of error coins entering circulation.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Kellie Considine
• CU-1C-2021-01R; number: none. 01/14/2022.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References