1945-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-001

Description

Primary obverse doubled die for the 1945-D Lincoln wheat cent, DDO-001 exhibits strong extra thickness on the date, LIBERTY, and IN GOD WE TRUST — the three major inscription groups on Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-1691 and DMR-018, documenting three die stages that track the die's progression from fresh to worn. Stage A sits at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B reveals mid die state with a die gouge through the upper hair region on Lincoln's portrait plus a mid-state reverse, and Stage C reaches late die state (unconfirmed). The die gouge through upper hair at Stage B provides an invaluable secondary diagnostic for collectors — locating this feature confirms the correct working die independent of the doubling assessment. Denver struck approximately 266.3 million cents in 1945, the final year of shell-case brass cent production, when recovered spent cartridge cases provided the alloy for cent planchets as part of the wartime materials conservation program. The comments note that the mintmark position is lower than on DDO-003, providing a comparative reference point that helps distinguish DDO-001 from other 1945-D doubled die obverse varieties that might otherwise show similar doubling characteristics. This mintmark positioning diagnostic is particularly valuable because it is completely independent of the hub doubling — it reflects the hand-placement of the D mintmark punch into the working die, creating a die-specific identifier. Strong extra thickness on date, LIBERTY, and IN GOD WE TRUST across three widely separated inscription zones indicates a substantial hub misalignment that produced clearly visible doubling across the full obverse die face. The 1945-D DDO-001 designation as the primary variety makes it the benchmark obverse doubled die for this late wartime date.

Die Markers

• UVC-1691
• DMR-018
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Die gouge through upper hair – MDS
• Reverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Rogers
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References