1939 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-008

Description

The 1939 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-008 is a doubled die variety on the Lincoln Wheat Cent exhibiting extra thickness on E PLURIBUS UNUM, both wheat ears, and their stems. The extra thickness across multiple legend and design elements confirms a genuine hub doubling event where a secondary impression slightly offset from the primary created widened strokes throughout. The broad coverage — spanning motto, both wheat ears, and stems — indicates displacement affected a substantial portion of the reverse die face. Die progression data cataloged under UVC-2571 and DMR-018 documents three stages. Stage A at Early Die State and Stage B at Mid Die State remain unconfirmed. Stage C presents an interesting split condition: the reverse is at Late Die State while the obverse remains at Early Die State, suggesting this reverse die was paired with a fresh obverse after its original partner wore out. This mixed die-state pairing provides evidence of die rotation practices at the Philadelphia Mint during 1939, where worn reverse dies continued service alongside replacement obverse dies to maximize equipment utilization.

Die Markers

• UVC-2571
• DMR-018
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Reverse is LDS
• Obverse is EDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Gil Medina
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References