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November 30, 2008
Coin Cuds or Die Chip Error Coins
Australia 1998 $2 Rim Cud Error Coin
The so called coin cud or die chip error coin happens when a part of one of the dies that strikes the coins actually breaks off. When this broken die strikes a coin the result is a new raised feature (usually looking like a blob) on the surface of the struck coin that mirrors the incuse feature on the die where the die broke. Coin cuds or die chip errors are reasonably common, and unless the cud is particularly large usually only worth a small premium. A lot of the US Morgan Dollar VAM's are defined by cuds or die breaks and these can often carry a larger premium over the non variety coins.
The most common form of coin cud error is the rim cud, where part of the die that forms the rim of the coin breaks away and any struck coins have a raised element that extends around part of the rim. You can see this coin error on the coin in the image above, the rim cuds on this coin are highlighted in red. In some cases (like the image above) there are actually two cuds. I can only assume that rim cud errors are (relatively) common because the rim of the die is easily damaged in storage and transport. Cud errors can also occur in the main part of the coin design, usually these happen in weaker points of the coin design where part of the die breaks away because of excessive use. These cuds can be smaller and harder to spot, but they still form an interesting variety that some collectors are interested in.
I aware that some collectors differentiate a die chip error and a coin cud based on the size and location of the die chip. To my mind they are the same thing, a raised blob on the surface of a coin because of a coin die break. Assigning some sort of arbitrary size limit between a cud or a die chip seems rather pointless and open to interpretation so I use the terms interchangeably.
Posted by mnemtsas at November 30, 2008 6:24 AM
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