1944 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-022

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1944 1¢ WDDO-022 and cross-referenced as Coppercoins 1944P-1DO-025, this Lincoln Wheat Cent displays one of the more dramatic doubled die obverse effects in the series — a very wide spread to the west manifesting as a partial extra 9 visible between the 9 and the 4 in the date. This wide westward spread also produces closer doubling on the 1 and 9, an extra eyelid below the normal eyelid, and doubling on both T's in TRUST, creating a variety with multiple high-visibility diagnostics across different obverse elements. The partial extra 9 between the existing 9 and 4 is the standout feature, as wide-spread date doubling creates date digit anomalies that are among the most visually dramatic and commercially desirable of all doubled die manifestations. Obverse die markers include remnants of a die clash visible to the right of the throat — evidence that this die pair experienced at least one planchet-free strike event. The reverse carries a die gouge below the right side of the C in CENT. The wide separation between the primary and secondary 9 digits indicates a substantial hub displacement during the hubbing process, with the secondary impression shifting significantly westward before the die was completed. The 1944 Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in bronze composition (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) weighing 3.11 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse, and the wheat ears reverse served from 1909 through 1958. The clash remnants at the throat and the wide date doubling together create a die with documented history of multiple anomalous events — both a manufacturing variety (the doubled die) and a production incident (the die clash) — during its service at the Philadelphia Mint during the high-volume wartime production year of 1944.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Robert Lawson Cross References: Coppercoins: 1944P-1DO-025
• Coppercoins: 1944P-1DO-025; Wexler Variety ID: 1944 1¢ WDDO-022
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References