1962 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-038

Description

Joining the small group of 1962 Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO varieties that display portrait-level doubling, WDDO-038 is distinguished by a secondary eyelid visible below Lincoln's normal eyelid — a feature that places the doubling squarely on the coin's central design element rather than confining it to peripheral inscriptions. The extra eyelid indicates that the hub displacement was oriented in a direction that projected its secondary impression through the fine engraved details of the portrait's eye area, where the shallow relief of the eyelid captured the shifted image with enough fidelity to produce a recognizable doubled feature. Obverse die markers include strong parallel die scratches running southwest from the rim, positioned to the left of the first T in IN GOD WE TRUST. The reverse presents an interesting diagnostic profile: remnants of a die clash appear in the lower third bay of the Memorial and south from the bottom of the Memorial below the left post, indicating that this reverse die made contact with an obverse die without an intervening planchet at some point during its production life. Numerous die scratches are distributed throughout the reverse, contributing additional identifying features. Die clash remnants on the reverse can occasionally create ghost-like impressions of obverse design elements — fragments of Lincoln's portrait or inscription letters transferred onto the Memorial side — and collectors examining this variety should note any such transferred details as supplementary attribution evidence. This variety was struck at the Philadelphia Mint as a regular business-strike issue during 1962, the final year of the original 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc alloy composition, when over 606 million Lincoln cents were produced.

Die Markers

• Obverse: Strong parallel die scratches run SW from the rim to the left of the first T in TRUST. Other die scratches can be found throughout the obverse. Reverse: Remnants of a die clash can be found in the lower third bay and running south from the bottom of the Memorial below the left post. Numerous die scratches can be found throughout the reverse.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References