1938 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista as DDO-002 with the Universal Variety Code UVC-1404 and Die Marker Record DMR-004, this doubled die obverse variety appears on a 1938 Lincoln Wheat cent struck at the Philadelphia Mint. The 1938 cent was produced in the standard pre-war bronze composition of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 3.11 grams with a 19 mm diameter. Philadelphia struck 156,682,000 cents in 1938 during the Great Depression era, when mintages were beginning to recover from the severely reduced production levels of the early 1930s. The primary doubling diagnostic on DDO-002 is a very strong doubled eyelid to the southeast, one of the more dramatic eyelid doublings in the Wheat cent series for this period. Some light distortion is also present at Lincoln's mouth, extending the doubled impression from the eye area downward on the portrait. Multiple die stages have been documented: Stage A is early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B shows diagonal gouges on the upper E of WE and on TRUST in mid die state with the reverse also in mid die state, and Stage C is late die state (unconfirmed). The diagonal gouges at the E of WE and TRUST provide important attribution diagnostics for Stage B specimens, distinguishing them from other 1938 doubled die obverse varieties. The strong eyelid doubling makes this variety one of the more visually appealing doubled dies from the late 1930s, a period when the multi-squeeze hubbing process used to create working dies was particularly prone to producing detectable hub misalignment. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait, with its finely detailed facial features, provides excellent locations for detecting doubled die characteristics.

Die Markers

• UVC-1404
• DMR-004
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Diagonal gouges on upper E of WE, and TRUST – MDS
• Reverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References