1909 VDDR VDDR-032

Description

Thirty-second doubled die reverse for the 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent, VDDR-032 displays light spread on TE of UNITED, F of OF, TA of STATES, and M of AMERICA — the same letter groups affected across multiple 1909 DDR varieties, consistent with a recurring hub shift direction during die manufacture. VarietyVista documented Stage B showing the reverse in Early to Mid Die State (EMDS) with a die crack running across the lower shoulder area to the rim in Late Mid Die State (LMDS), indicating progressive die deterioration. The reverse is identified as either RDV-002 (Deep cut N, V.D.B.) or RDV-001 (Shallow cut N, V.D.B.) — critically, this places VDDR-032 on a V.D.B. reverse, one of the dies that retained Victor David Brenner's initials. The V.D.B. reverse was used only during the earliest portion of the 1909 production run before public outcry over the prominent initials led to their removal partway through August 1909. This means VDDR-032 was necessarily struck during a narrow production window, making it a doubled die variety on the scarcer V.D.B. reverse type. The die crack across the lower shoulder area to the rim in Stage B documents structural failure in the die's portrait region, and the distinction between EMDS and LMDS reflects the careful die state analysis that variety researchers apply to track progressive deterioration.

Die Markers

• UVC-????
• DMR-0??
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse is EMDS
• Die crack across lower shoulder to rim – LMDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Blaine Neupert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References