1942 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-011

Description

Wartime copper cent production in 1942, the final year before the emergency transition to zinc-coated steel planchets in 1943, yielded this doubled die reverse with medium spread to the north. The northward displacement appears on US of PLURIBUS, ON of ONE, CE of CENT, and ED of UNITED, affecting lettering distributed across multiple areas of the reverse design. Cataloged under UVC-3344 and DMR-023, DDR-011 documents three die stages: Stage A in Early Die State is unconfirmed, Stage B shows both the reverse and obverse in Early to Mid-Die State, and Stage C in Late Die State remains unconfirmed. The directional consistency of the northward spread across separated design elements confirms this as hub doubling rather than machine doubling, which typically shows a more uniform shelf-like displacement. As the eleventh cataloged DDR for the 1942 date, this variety emerges from a year when the Philadelphia Mint was ramping up production to meet wartime demands, striking over 657 million cents. Collectors of World War II-era coinage find additional historical resonance in varieties from 1942, the last year these cents were struck on the traditional copper alloy composition.

Die Markers

• UVC-3344
• DMR-023
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are EMDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mike Antenucci
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References