1909 VDDR VDDR-034

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista as the thirty-fourth doubled die reverse for the 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent, VDDR-034 exhibits light spread on the TE of UNITED, the F of OF, the TA of STATES, and the M of AMERICA — a pattern of selective letter-pair doubling that matches the spread profile of VDDR-021 on different letters of the same inscriptions. Die marker codes remain provisionally assigned (UVC-???? and DMR-0??), with three stages documented: Stage A is Early Die State, unconfirmed. Stage B advances to Mid Die State with a die crack from the middle left wheat stalk to the rim, a light die crack across the back bust line, and die chips in the lower R and upper S of TRUST. Stage C is Late Die State, unconfirmed. Like VDDR-021, this variety is associated with Reverse Design Variety RDV-004 (deep cut N, no V.D.B.) or RDV-003 (shallow cut N, no V.D.B.), confirming it belongs to a die without Brenner's initials on the reverse. The 1909 Lincoln cent was the series' inaugural year, struck at the Philadelphia Mint in bronze at 3.11 grams and 19.05 mm diameter. Thirty-four documented DDR varieties for the first year of Lincoln cent production underscores the extensive die population involved in launching a new denomination design, where the learning curve of hub-to-die manufacture generated numerous alignment deviations across the working die population.

Die Markers

• UVC-????
• DMR-0??
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Die crack from middle Left wheat to rim – MDS
• Light die crack across back bust line – MDS
• Die chip in lower R and upper S of TRUST
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Kathy Hofmann
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References