1944-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-014

Description

Medium spread northward on Lincoln's eyelid distinguishes DDO-014 as a notable doubled die obverse for the 1944 Denver Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, struck in the year that marked the return from steel to brass-composition planchets made from recycled shell casings. VarietyVista records die markers UVC-1639 and DMR-045 with three stages: Stage A at Early Die State (unconfirmed); Stage B showing a die crack over the designer's initials V.D.B. at Mid Die State with the reverse progressing to Late Die State; and Stage C at Late Die State (unconfirmed). The eyelid doubling — a medium spread to the north creating a visible extra line above the normal eyelid — belongs to a class of obverse doubled dies that Lincoln Cent collectors find particularly appealing because the eye area sits in high relief and the doubling is often detectable without extreme magnification. The 1944-D Lincoln Cent was struck at the Denver Mint on planchets composed of spent brass shell casings recycled from military training ranges, giving the coins a slightly different color and composition than pre-war issues. Denver produced approximately 430 million cents in 1944, a large output driven by wartime economic expansion. The die crack over V.D.B. at Stage B provides a useful secondary diagnostic for confirming the die pairing once the primary eyelid doubling has been identified, and advanced die-state examples showing the reverse in LDS may exhibit additional progressive die deterioration marks.

Die Markers

• UVC-1639
• DMR-045
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Die crack over V. D. B. – MDS
• Reverse is LDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References