Die crack. It has to be a piece of metal on the rim of the coin to be a cud. Edit #1: the more I look, it seems that *any* "broken off" piece of metal, anywhere on the coin, is a cud... I really thought it had to be on/touching the rim... I'm still looking... Edit #2: different resources say different things, but the one that I've been told is what I said originally, thus, you are still looking a die crack. (But if it were a "cud" anywhere else but the edge of the coin, it would be called a "die chip".) [Experts, please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks.] See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mint-made_errors#Die_cracks,_die_breaks,_and_die_chips Die cracks, die breaks, and die chips Dies can crack during use producing jaggeds [sic], raised lines on the surface of subsequently struck coins. In U.S. coinage, many Morgan dollar coins show slight die cracks. Dies with cracks, especially those with cracks near the edge, sometimes break. The broken piece may be retained in position or fall away. Die cracks and retained die breaks can be difficult to distinguish. Retained die breaks cross the coin's face from rim to rim with the area to one side of the break being slightly higher than the other. Coins struck after the break falls away have a raised, rounded, unstruck area along the edge. These coins are known to collectors as cuds. Sometimes, an area of a die will chip out of the center. These so-called die chips appear on subsequently struck coins as raised, rounded, unstruck areas called die chips.
I prefer to use the old definition of a cud: A cud is a break along the rim that extends into the field. Chris
Retained cud and die crack are not the same thing. You can't have a retained cud without a die crack, but you can have a die crack without a retained cud.
I know. My point being, they are both pretty much worthless unless you're a crack retained cud collector.
Yes, but there are always people floating through the forums that don't know the difference and itis best not to put out incorrect or incomplete information that could confuse or mislead them. It is much better to learn what is correct in the first place than to have to unlearn something later.
I can agree with you on the die crack sometimes being worthless (unless the buffalo is spitting or some such thing ), but I think significantly sized cuds will generally be worth a premium.