1952-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

Second in the obverse doubled die census for the 1952-D Lincoln wheat cent, DDO-002 presents light spread in a southward direction manifesting as an extra eyelid below Lincoln's normal eyelid — a diagnostic type that appears across multiple Lincoln cent hub-doubled obverse dies where Victor David Brenner's carefully sculpted facial detail reveals even minimal displacement between hub impressions. VarietyVista documented this variety under UVC-2912 and DMR-030, with three die stages tracked: Stage A where the obverse is at early die state with straggly die scratches visible through the E of E PLURIBUS UNUM at EDS, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C where the obverse has progressed to late die state with a die chip developing on the upper E of ONE and additional die chips on the T of CENT. Denver struck approximately 746.1 million Lincoln cents in 1952, providing the production volume that consumed numerous working dies across the year's output. The comments note MMS-003, indicating this die also carries a misplaced mintmark — the D showing a minor secondary impression — adding a second attributable characteristic. The die state progression from Stage A's clean EDS surfaces with the diagnostic E scratches through Stage C's accumulated die chips on ONE and CENT provides collectors with a documented framework for determining the relative production timing of their specimen. The extra eyelid diagnostic requires examination of Lincoln's eye area under 10-15x magnification, looking for a distinct secondary eyelid contour displaced southward from the primary line. The Stage A die scratches through the E of EPU offer an immediate secondary confirmation point, while Stage C specimens will show the die chip deterioration that developed as the die aged.

Die Markers

• UVC-2912
• DMR-030
• Stage A:
• Obverse is EDS
• Straggly die scratches through E of EPU – EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse is LDS
• Die chip on upper E of ONE – LDS
• Die chips on T of CENT

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References