1961 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-012

Description

Recorded in the Wexler Doubled Die Files as 1961 1¢ Pr WDDR-012, this Proof doubled die reverse from the 1961 Lincoln Memorial Cent shows a close spread towards the center on the designer's initials FG and the word AMERICA. The centripetal spread affecting these two design elements — the small FG monogram positioned between the Memorial and the right rim, and the AMERICA inscription arcing across the upper reverse — reflects a Class II distorted hub doubling event whose displacement was concentrated in the right-center portion of the die face. On the obverse, no significant die markers have been identified. The reverse, however, offers a valuable authentication diagnostic: a short vertical die scratch that runs through the top left of the E in AMERICA. This die scratch, distinguished from the doubling itself by its incised rather than raised character, allows collectors to confirm the specific die identity once the doubling pattern has been tentatively matched. No cross-references to other attribution organizations are currently known. Among the seventeen DDR varieties documented for the 1961 Proof date, WDDR-012 is characterized by the relative compactness of its affected area — the doubling is confined to the designer's initials and AMERICA, both located in the right half of the reverse — suggesting that the hub distortion event was more localized than the broad-coverage spreads seen on varieties like WDDR-011 or WDDR-016.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1961 1¢ Pr WDDR-012
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References