1962 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-025

Description

Exhibiting a medium spread on the date, the 1962 Proof Lincoln Memorial Cent DDO-025 sits in the middle tier of doubling intensity within the proof DDO population for this year. The medium designation, tracked under die markers UVC-2051 and DMR-049, indicates that the secondary image of the date numerals carries enough separation from the primary to be detectable at 7x to 8x magnification — sufficient to reward a careful search but not so pronounced as to be immediately obvious during casual inspection. The 1962 proof set represented the last year of the 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc alloy composition before the Mint removed tin from the cent beginning in late 1962, making all 1962 proof cents part of the final cohort struck in the original Memorial cent alloy. This compositional distinction, while invisible to the eye, gives 1962 proof issues a subtle historical significance that adds a layer of collecting interest beyond the variety itself. The sheer number of proof DDO varieties cataloged for 1962 — extending well past DDO-025 — speaks to the industrial reality of proof die production: the Philadelphia Mint prepared fresh dies in sufficient quantity to strike over 3.2 million proof sets, and each die underwent the same multi-impression hubbing process that could introduce doubling, resulting in a statistically significant population of doubled dies scattered across the total proof die inventory.

Die Markers

• UVC-2051; DMR-049

External References