1939 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-003

Description

Tracked by VarietyVista under die marker codes UVC-1429 and DMR-013, the 1939 DDR-003 Lincoln Wheat Cent exhibits medium extra thickness on E PLURIBUS UNUM with some separation visible on the upper wheat ears — a doubled die reverse where the hub displacement affected both the lettering and the botanical design elements, with the wheat ear separation suggesting enough displacement to create distinct secondary outlines on these curved, detailed features rather than mere thickening. Three die states document the die's progressive deterioration: Stage A in early-mid die state (EMDS), notable for a die gouge running northwest from the left wheat tip and die scratches under GOD; Stage B in MDS, unconfirmed; and Stage C in LDS, also unconfirmed. The EMDS markers are particularly useful for attribution because they establish early-production diagnostics — the northwest die gouge from the wheat tip and the die scratches under GOD were present from the beginning or near-beginning of this die's service life, meaning they appear on specimens across the full production run and are not limited to late-state examples only. The Lincoln Wheat Cent was designed by Victor David Brenner and struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1939 from 95% copper composition, weighing 3.11 grams with a diameter of 19.05 mm. The 1939 Philadelphia mintage of approximately 316 million pieces represented robust production, providing ample opportunity for multiple die pairs to enter service. The combination of EPU extra thickness with wheat ear separation positions this variety as diagnostically interesting: the lettering doubling confirms the hub displacement direction and magnitude, while the wheat ear separation reveals how that same displacement interacted with the curved organic forms of the Brenner wheat design — two different design geometries responding to the same mechanical event.

Die Markers

• UVC-1429
• DMR-013
• Stage A:
• Die gouge Northwest from Left wheat tip – EMDS
• Die scratches under GOD – EMDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References