1946-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-013

Description

Thirteenth in the sequence of 1946-S DDO wheat cent varieties, WDDO-013 extends the documented hub doubling record for the first post-war San Francisco cent issue. The Wexler Team cataloged this die as Wexler Variety ID: 1946-S 1¢ WDDO-013, establishing its identity through comparative die study analysis. San Francisco's 1946 cent production of 198,100,000 pieces marked the facility's return to standard brass alloy after the wartime shell-case years, and the transition between alloy types introduced changes in die impression behavior that may have contributed to hub doubling frequency during this adjustment period. Thirteen DDO varieties for the 1946-S date represents a substantial catalog for a post-war issue, suggesting that die preparation quality at the Philadelphia die shop — where all working dies were manufactured — did not immediately improve upon the cessation of wartime production urgency. WDDO-013, at its catalog position, was documented after twelve more prominent varieties had been identified, placing its doubling visibility in the moderate-to-subtle range that typically characterizes higher-numbered entries. The 1946-S date holds transitional significance in the wheat cent series: it was the first S-mint cent on standard alloy since 1942 and one of the final decade of S-mint wheat cent production before San Francisco halted cent coinage after 1955. Attribution of WDDO-013 requires distinguishing its specific spread direction and affected design elements from the twelve preceding entries, a process best accomplished through systematic comparison against published Wexler reference images and die marker descriptions.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1946-S 1¢ WDDO-013
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References