1960 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-011

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as 1960 1¢ Pr WDDO-011, this doubled die obverse variety was struck on a 1960 proof Lincoln cent, and it is notably cross-referenced across three major attribution services: CONECA 7-O-II+V, Coppercoins 1960P-1DO-007P, and the Wexler Doubled Die Files. The 1960 proof cent was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 3.11 grams with a 19 mm diameter. Philadelphia produced 1,691,602 proof sets in 1960, a year famous in cent collecting for the Large Date and Small Date varieties that ignited widespread collector interest. WDDO-011 specifically appears on the Large Date variety. The doubling mechanism combines Class II (distorted hub) and Class V (pivoted hub) characteristics, producing a spread to the northwest visible on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. This combined classification indicates the hub underwent both deformation and rotational displacement during the die-making process, resulting in a complex doubling pattern that shows different displacement vectors on different areas of the design. Obverse die markers include four parallel die scratches running from southwest to northeast in the hair to the left of Lincoln's ear, a distinctive cluster that aids rapid attribution screening. Reverse die markers include a die scratch running from south-southwest to north-northeast at the top of the fifth bay of the Lincoln Memorial and a vertical die scratch found in the lower two-thirds of the tenth bay. The 1960 Large Date proof cent holds a special place in the doubled die collecting community because the date's prominence in mainstream numismatics — driven by the Large Date versus Small Date phenomenon — brought heightened collector scrutiny that led to the discovery of numerous die varieties that might otherwise have gone unnoticed on a less-examined date.

Attribution History

• Discovered by David Bigelow Cross References: CONECA: 7-O-II+V, Coppercoins: 1960P-1DO-007P
• CONECA: 7-O-II+V, Coppercoins: 1960P-1DO-007P; Wexler Variety ID: 1960 1¢ Pr WDDO-011
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References