1945-S Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-002

Description

Second doubled die reverse documented for the 1945 San Francisco Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, WDDR-002 establishes early in the catalog that multiple hub misalignment events occurred during the manufacture of dies used for San Francisco's final wartime cent production. The transition from wartime to peacetime operations was underway by mid-1945, but the Mint's die production processes remained consistent with wartime practices — each working die still required the same multi-pass hubbing sequence that carried the risk of misregistration between impressions. Two DDRs attributed early in the catalog sequence suggests that variety researchers identified these as among the more detectable doubled die specimens for the 1945-S date, with visible doubling that confirmed genuine hub displacement rather than the mechanical doubling or die deterioration effects that can superficially mimic DDR characteristics. Victor David Brenner's Wheat Cent reverse design, with its paired wheat ears and central legends, was approaching its thirty-seventh consecutive year of production in 1945, and the fine details that reveal hub doubling were thoroughly familiar to die variety specialists. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID: 1945-S 1¢ WDDR-002, this variety belongs to the final chapter of wartime Wheat Cent production before the return to full peacetime operations in 1946.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1945-S 1¢ WDDR-002
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References