1962 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-045

Description

Featuring portrait-level doubling that places it among the more visually distinctive varieties in the 1962 Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO series, WDDO-045 displays a secondary eyelid below Lincoln's normal eyelid — a doubling effect on the coin's central design element that immediately commands attention under magnification. The eyelid doubling indicates that the hub displacement was oriented in a direction that projected through the finely engraved portrait details, and the eye area's shallow relief captured the secondary impression with sufficient clarity to produce a recognizable doubled feature. Obverse die markers provide a rich set of supplementary identification points: a die scratch extends north from the top of the R in LIBERTY, scratches run from west-northwest to east-southeast to the right of Lincoln's bowtie, and numerous north-south scratches appear on both sides of the bust. The reverse is equally well-marked, with a small die gouge right of the right cornice and several north-south scratches left of the first Memorial column. This abundance of die markers makes WDDO-045 one of the more readily identifiable varieties in the series, as collectors can perform an efficient multi-point screening process before even attempting to resolve the eyelid doubling. The variety was struck at the Philadelphia Mint as a business-strike issue during 1962, the final year of the original 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc alloy composition. The interplay between the portrait doubling and the extensive die marker constellation illustrates why systematic variety attribution requires attention to both the doubling characteristics and the die's unique physical fingerprint.

Die Markers

• Obverse: A die scratch runs north from the top of the R in LIBERTY. Die scratches run WNW/ESE to the right of the bowtie. Numerous die scratches run N/S on both sides of the bust. Reverse: A small die gouge can be found to the right of the right cornice. Several die scratches run N/S to the left of the first column.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References