1956-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-018

Description

Eighteenth doubled die obverse for the 1956 Denver Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, WDDO-018 displays an extra eyelid to the south — a signature diagnostic on Lincoln cent DDOs where the hub displacement creates a visible secondary impression of the eyelid below the primary one. Denver produced 1,098,201,100 cents in 1956, exceeding one billion for this single date-mint, an astronomical output that consumed thousands of working dies and proportionally increased the probability of hub misalignment during die manufacture. Obverse die markers include the hub marker die gouge inside the 9 and a vertical die scratch/gouge behind the top of the hair under OD in GOD. Reverse markers are equally detailed: a light vertical die scratch runs right of N in CENT toward the bottom left of E in ONE, and a short die scratch runs NNW/SSE to the right of the lower A in STATES. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 1956-D 1¢ WDDO-018 with no other known cross-references, this variety was attributed by the Wexler Team. Eighteen DDOs for a single date-mint places 1956-D among the most variety-rich issues in the Wheat Cent series, a consequence of the massive die production required to support billion-plus coin output. The combination of southward eyelid doubling and the die gouge inside the 9 provides a reliable two-point identification protocol.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Frank Baumann (Updated photos on a coin from Jason Dick) Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1956-D 1¢ WDDO-018
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References