1950 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-002

Description

Light westward spread on ONE, the CEN of CENT, and the NI of UNITED defines the doubling scope of DDR-002 for the 1950 Lincoln wheat cent, a variety where the affected text elements span both the central and upper portions of the reverse. VarietyVista assigned UVC-3333 with die markers reference DMR-004, documenting a three-stage progression with notable features. Stage A shows both reverse and obverse in early die state. Stage B advances the reverse to mid-die-state and introduces a die clash at Lincoln's throat -- evidence that the obverse and reverse dies struck each other without a planchet at some point during the die's working life -- with the reverse also at MDS. Stage C at late die state remains unconfirmed. The die clash at the throat in Stage B is diagnostically significant because it adds a secondary variety feature (the clash mark) to the primary doubled die attribution, and it documents a specific event in the die's production history: the clashing likely occurred during a press malfunction or planchet feed failure. Philadelphia struck 272,635,000 wheat cents in 1950, a figure that had declined from the wartime peaks as the economy transitioned through the postwar years. The westward spread direction pushes doubled letter images to the left of the primary design, producing a shadow effect particularly visible on the straight vertical strokes of letters like N and I. Victor David Brenner's wheat ears reverse was entering its final decade of production by 1950, and DDR-002 preserves a snapshot of die behavior from the series' mature period.

Die Markers

• UVC-3333
• DMR-004
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• Reverse is MDS
• Die clash at throat – MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Glenn Mullins
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References