1939 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-007

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista as UVC-1433 and DMR-017, this 1939 Philadelphia Lincoln Wheat Cent DDR-007 presents strong extra thickness on E PLURIBUS UNUM, both wheat ears and stems, ONE, and OF AMERICA. The strong classification indicates that the hub displacement during die sinking was substantial enough to produce visibly thickened design elements without high magnification — a more pronounced effect than the light or medium spreads cataloged on many contemporary Lincoln Cent doubled dies. Three die stages have been documented: Stage A where both reverse and obverse are in early die state, Stage B in mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C in late die state (unconfirmed). The 1939 Lincoln Cent was struck in the traditional 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc composition that had been standard since the series began in 1909, years before wartime metal shortages would force temporary alloy changes in 1943. Strong doubling affecting both organic elements like wheat ears and text elements like legends and denomination creates multiple diagnostic zones spread across the entire reverse, making DDR-007 one of the more readily identifiable doubled die varieties from the pre-war Wheat Cent era.

Die Markers

• UVC-1433
• DMR-017
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References