1945-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-019

Description

Nineteenth in the extensive 1945-D DDO catalog, WDDO-019 stands near the upper boundary of documented hub doubling varieties for Denver's wartime cent production and was assigned Wexler Variety ID: 1945-D 1¢ WDDO-019 by the Wexler Team. With at least nineteen distinct doubled die obverse dies now documented for the 1945-D date, this issue ranks among the most thoroughly studied in the entire Lincoln wheat cent series for hub doubling frequency. Denver's 1945 shell-case cent production of 266,268,000 pieces, while substantial, was actually lower than the facility's 1944 output, yet the DDO catalog for 1945-D has grown to rival the 1944-D family in depth. This parity suggests that either 1945 die preparation conditions were particularly prone to hub misalignment or that variety researchers have simply devoted more complete attention to the 1945-D dies over time. WDDO-019, cataloged near the end of the known sequence, represents a variety with doubling characteristics that required experienced examination to identify and distinguish from the eighteen preceding entries. Collectors pursuing the 1945-D DDO set should note that shell-case copper cents from this year were among the last wartime alloy issues — the Mint would return to standard brass composition later in 1946 — adding a compositional significance to these coins beyond their variety attributes. Searching through wartime cent accumulations remains a productive avenue for variety discovery, as many bags and rolls from this period have never been examined by variety-focused collectors.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1945-D 1¢ WDDO-019
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References