1935-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-001

Description

Holding the primary obverse doubled die designation for the 1935-S Lincoln wheat cent, WDDO-001 reveals two extra eyelids visible to the southeast of Lincoln's normal eyelid — a particularly strong diagnostic where the doubled hub impression produced not one but two additional eyelid lines displaced from the primary. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait, in continuous production since 1909, provides finely sculpted facial features that are exceptionally sensitive to hub doubling, and the dual extra eyelid on WDDO-001 represents a more complex displacement than the single extra eyelid found on most doubled die Lincoln cents. Die markers reinforce the attribution: the obverse displays numerous die scratches running north-south above the date and to the left of the lower head, while the reverse carries a short die scratch running southeast from the top right of the second U in UNUM. San Francisco struck approximately 38.7 million cents in 1935, a solid Depression-era production run. The Wexler Team cataloged this variety under Wexler Variety ID: 1935-S 1¢ WDDO-001, with no additional cross-references currently known. The southeast displacement direction of the extra eyelids indicates the secondary hub impression landed below and to the right of the primary, a directional vector that should be consistent across all affected design elements on the obverse. The dual extra eyelid — producing three visible eyelid lines in total — may suggest either two distinct hub misalignment events during the die sinking process or a single displacement large enough to create two resolvable secondary impressions. Collectors should examine the eye area under 10-15x magnification, counting the eyelid lines visible southeast of the primary, then confirm by checking for the north-south die scratches above the date and the reverse U-in-UNUM die scratch.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John Shields Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1935-S 1¢ WDDO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References