Sent this to David Poliquin hoping I had the most amazing looking Misplaced Date ever, (or dropped letter) but he determined it to be a small die break. Still, he mapped out a new broken die reverse and it has a Rarity rating of 8! http://indiancentvarieties.com.fqdns.net/1889_variety049.html
Mr. Poliquin said that this one should not be confused with cuds, since they are just heavy die breaks.
I'll let the real experts clarify this. I have always just considered CUDS to be a place where the die has sunk (leaving an elevated area on the coin.) They usually occur along die cracks, but I consider them to be more than mere die cracks. If this is accurate, then die chips and cracks could be considered a subset of CUDs, but I usually associate CUDS with a sinking of an area between cracks and some other crack or design limiter such as a letter or the edge of the coin. As for retained CUDS, I have no clue. They are either there or they are not. I'm sure someone has determined there is something different between an unretained CUD and a retained one. But I don't know what it is.
Congratulations on this find. My first thought was the 8 is doubled so it might not be just crud. But sometimes crud collects along any break in the surface. I've always chased the discovery coin, at times to irrational imagination.
In my opinion, it doesn't become a retained cud until you can see some slight shifting in the design where the break begins.
A retained cud is where the piece of the die has broken off the die but is still in place and continues to impart some of its design on the struck coin, In the case of a cud or "full cud" the broken piece of the die has completely fallen away and no trace of the deign shows. The hallmark difference between a rim to rim die crack and a retained cud is there is a vertical displacement from one side of the crack to the other on a retained cud. The piece that has broken off may be displaced either up or down, usually down. Some people will say that a horizontal displacement can also indicate a retained cud but the problem then becomes "How can you be sure the piece is not still attached to the die body?" If it is still attached you just have a wide crack. Until you have VERTICAL displacement you can't be sure that the piece has broken away completely.
Nice find and youre starting to solidify yourself as an astute IHC variety hunter/discoverer !! Now put it on the bay as unique l@@k w@w mu$t $ee mu$t have hens t@@th RARE !!! $25,000
Congrats on the discovery. From someone that has watched for years I know its not an accomplishment to be taken lightly.
