Are cracked dies common on modern coins?

[cpm9ball]

I have been coming across a lot of these lately, particularly on 1998 & 2001 Kennedy halves. I know that it was very common on Morgan dollars, but I haven't seen to much written about modern coinage. What would be a good source of information on this subject?

 

Chris

[Jay Turner]

Die cracks are common on all coinage, modern and classic. Cracking is a natural progression in the life of a die. As a pair of die is used to strike coins must imply great pressure to make a coin. When this pressure is applied to the planchets it also transfers to the dies. From this stress the dies will eventually wear and crack. Because of this the die’s life time is limited to a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of strikes depending on how the die holds up. Normally die cracks do not command a market value unless the resulting crack removes a piece of the die leaving an area of the coins surface missing. These die breaks or “CUDS” are highly collectable due to the fact they are often quickly caught and the dies are retired when they are found. If you are looking for more information on this subject The Cud Book by Sam Thurman and Arnold Margolis is a great resource cataloging known cuds.

 

I hope this helps.

[cpm9ball]

Thanks, Jay! I'm asking because I've been searching through 3 bags of 2001-D Kennedys, and I've found about 60 with die cracks on the chin. I can almost track its growth (with a loupe, of course). First, there appears to be a "blemish" on the chin; on others, you can see a faint hairline begin to extend parallel to the line of the jaw; and finally, a single "whisker" appears to jut from the upward curvature of the chin toward 10:00 o'clock. It's quite interesting, and I was thinking of having them slabbed in a grouping of 3 or 4 entitled, "Birth of a Die Crack". Now, if I could just find some cuds to go with them!

 

Chris