1946-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-006

Description

Sixth in the reverse doubled die census for the 1946-S Lincoln wheat cent, DDR-006 exhibits medium spread on the lower left wheat grains and stem of Victor David Brenner's iconic reverse design. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-1745 and DMR-058, documenting three die stages: Stage A with die scratches running north-south through UNITED at early-to-mid die state and the obverse also at EMDS, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The EMDS (Early-to-Mid Die State) classification for Stage A indicates the die exhibits characteristics transitional between fresh and moderately worn — the north-south die scratches through UNITED serve both as a die state marker and as a diagnostic fingerprint for identifying this specific working die. The comment notation specifies the mintmark as MMS-007 (sans serif), identifying a particular mintmark style where the S lacks the decorative serifs found on other S mintmark variants used at San Francisco — a detail that provides an additional confirmation point beyond the doubled die characteristics. San Francisco struck approximately 198.1 million cents in 1946, a postwar production year that saw elevated demand as the economy transitioned from wartime to peacetime commerce. Medium spread on the lower left wheat grains and stem concentrates the doubling diagnostic in a specific region of the reverse — the left wheat ear's lower section where individual grain kernels and the stem provide detailed surfaces that reveal hub displacement as secondary contour lines parallel to the primary design. The sans serif mintmark notation (MMS-007) reflects the VarietyVista system's detailed tracking of mintmark punch styles across the wheat cent series, and collectors can use this characteristic as an initial screening tool before examining the wheat grains for doubling at 15-20x magnification.

Die Markers

• UVC-1745
• DMR-058
• Stage A:
• Die scratches North-South through UNITED – EMDS
• Obverse is EMDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mike Bruggeman
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References