1942 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-009

Description

Strong southward hub doubling producing a prominent extra eyelid on Lincoln's portrait marks this ninth doubled die obverse for the 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent, cataloged by VarietyVista. The "strong" characterization distinguishes this from lighter doubled die varieties where the eyelid doubling is barely perceptible — here, the secondary eyelid line is boldly defined and visible at moderate magnification. The 1942 cent was produced during the first full year of American involvement in World War II, a period when the Philadelphia Mint was balancing civilian coinage production with wartime demands. Within a year, the copper composition would be temporarily abandoned in favor of zinc-coated steel (1943) to conserve copper for the war effort, making the 1942 one of the last pre-war-composition Wheat Cents. Die stage documentation records UVC-1526, DMR-011, with Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B showing both obverse and reverse at mid die state, and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). Nine documented obverse doubled dies for 1942 reflects thorough examination of this historically significant date. The extra eyelid variety type is among the most collected doubled die diagnostics on Lincoln Cents because it provides a clear, visually accessible attribution point on Lincoln's portrait that does not require extensive magnification to appreciate, making it popular with both beginning and advanced variety collectors.

Die Markers

• UVC-1526
• DMR-011
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mark Franzen
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References