1960 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-016

Description

Sixteenth in the Wexler reverse doubled die census for the 1960 Lincoln Memorial cent proof, WDDR-016 exhibits an extremely close spread directed toward the center on Frank Gasparro's designer initials FG — the small letters positioned at the lower right of the Lincoln Memorial facade. The "extremely close" designation indicates the primary and secondary hub impressions nearly overlap, producing thickened letterforms rather than clearly separated doubled images, and requiring careful examination under magnification to distinguish from normal strike characteristics. The proof designation (noted in the Wexler Variety ID as 1960 1¢ Pr WDDR-016) confirms this doubled die originated on a proof production die at Philadelphia, where the specially prepared mirror-finish dies paradoxically make extremely close doubling both harder and easier to detect — harder because the sharp proof strike can create an appearance of boldness that mimics doubling, but easier because the polished surfaces preserve fine detail that would be lost on business strike surfaces. No significant obverse die markers were recorded. The reverse carries distinctive die scratches running mostly north-south on the left Memorial base, providing a diagnostic fingerprint independent of the doubling itself. Philadelphia produced approximately 1.69 million proof sets in 1960, each containing the cent through half dollar in proof finish. The designer's initials FG were added to the Lincoln Memorial reverse beginning with the design's introduction in 1959, and their small size and position near the base of the design make them a challenging attribution target even under magnification. Collectors should direct fiber-optic illumination at the FG initials under 20x or greater magnification, looking for thickened letter strokes that exceed normal proof sharpness, and confirm the die identification by checking for the N/S die scratches on the left Memorial base.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1960 1¢ Pr WDDR-016
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References