1963 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-038

Description

Produced from specially prepared proof dies at the Philadelphia Mint, the 1963 Proof Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO-038 is a doubled die obverse variety struck as part of the year's proof production of 3,075,645 coins. Proof dies undergo a preparation process that includes chrome plating and careful polishing to generate the mirror-like fields and sharply frosted devices that distinguish proof coinage from circulation strikes, and they typically produce no more than approximately 3,000 impressions before being retired or re-polished to maintain surface quality. This limited die life means that any hubbing anomaly present in a proof die was transmitted to a correspondingly small population of coins, making proof DDO varieties inherently scarcer in absolute numbers than their business-strike counterparts even when the parent proof mintage appears substantial. The doubling on WDDO-038 resulted from a misalignment during the multi-impression hubbing process through which the obverse design was transferred into the working die, creating a permanent secondary image in the die steel. The highly reflective proof surfaces can actually aid detection of subtle doubling, since the contrast between mirror fields and frosted devices reveals secondary contours that might be invisible on the satin surfaces of business strikes. This variety is cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 1963 1c Pr WDDO-038 and was attributed by the Wexler Team. The coin was struck on the standard 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet, carrying Victor David Brenner's portrait of Lincoln and Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1963 1¢ Pr WDDO-038
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References