1944-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-007

Description

Strong extra thickness on LIBERTY and the date, paired with light extra thickness on IN GOD WE TRUST, defines this wartime 1944-D Lincoln wheat cent DDO-007. VarietyVista assigned two distinct die pair codes tracking a complex multi-stage and multi-reverse progression. Under UVC-1625 with DMR-028, Stage A shows the obverse at early die state, transitioning to a late die state marked by a small die chip forming on the T of CENT. The die was then paired with a different reverse, cataloged as UVC-1642 with DMR-049: Stage B captures a die gouge dot in the lower field under the E of LIBERTY at mid-die-state, with the reverse die change confirmed at MDS. By Stage C, both the obverse and reverse have reached late die state. A distinguishing comment notes that the mintmark on DDO-007 sits lower than on DDO-001, providing a quick sorting criterion when comparing Denver-mint doubled die obverses from 1944. The Denver Mint operated at peak wartime capacity in 1944, striking 430.6 million cents alongside enormous quantities of other denominations needed for both domestic commerce and military pay. Lincoln wheat cents of 1944 returned to the standard bronze composition after the emergency 1943 zinc-coated steel cent experiment, and the copper-alloy planchets used included recycled shell casings. The multiple die marriages documented for DDO-007 reveal that a single doubled die obverse could remain in service across several reverse die changes, producing coins with consistent obverse doubling but varying reverse die markers.

Die Markers

• UVC-1625
• DMR-028
• Stage A:
• Obverse is EDS
• Small die chip on T of CENT – LDS
• UVC-1642
• DMR-049
• Stage B:
• Die gouge dot in lower field under E of LIBERTY – MDS
• Reverse die changed – MDS
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References