RCD-1c-2021-01 Retained Cud

Description

Assigned the catalog designation RCD-1c-2021-01 by Cuds on Coins, this retained cud variety on the 2021 Lincoln Shield cent documents a die break where a fractured portion of the die remained partially attached rather than fully separating. Retained cuds represent an intermediate stage in the die failure progression — the die steel has cracked from the rim inward, creating a defined break line, but the broken segment has not yet fallen away from the die face. On struck coins, this produces a characteristic appearance: a raised irregular area bounded by the crack line where the retained die fragment has been pushed slightly out of alignment by striking pressure, often creating a subtle shelf or displacement in the affected design area. The 2021 Philadelphia cent features Lyndall Bass's Union Shield reverse, in production since 2010, paired with the familiar Brenner obverse portrait. The Shield cent design's geometric precision — with its crisp horizontal lines representing the shield's stripes — makes retained cuds particularly noticeable when they intersect the shield's orderly pattern. Philadelphia struck over 7.0 billion cents in 2021, a production volume that subjected working dies to extraordinary cumulative stress across their service life. The RCD-1c-2021-01 designation marks this as the first documented retained cud for the 2021 Philadelphia cent, establishing the baseline entry for what may expand as additional examples surface. Collectors should examine the rim area and adjacent design elements under 10x magnification, looking for the telltale raised break line that defines the boundary of the retained fragment.

External References