1963 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-051

Description

Beyond the fiftieth entry in the 1963 P-mint DDO census, varieties like WDDO-051 of the Lincoln Memorial Cent demonstrate that the catalog remains open and continues to expand as new specimens are examined and submitted for attribution. The Wexler Team attributed this variety and designated it Wexler Variety ID 1963 1c WDDO-051, integrating it into the Wexler Doubled Die Files where collectors and dealers can access reference photographs and detailed descriptions for comparison. Doubled die obverse varieties at this catalog depth tend to exhibit subtle or localized doubling rather than the dramatic full-obverse spreads seen on famous entries like the 1955 and 1972 DDOs, but they are no less genuine as die varieties. The secondary image on WDDO-051 was embedded in the working die during the hubbing process at the Philadelphia Mint, where the 1963 business-strike production of 754,110,000 cents consumed working dies at a pace that made hubbing anomalies a statistical inevitability across the entire die population. Successful attribution of higher-numbered varieties requires careful die marker analysis in addition to identifying the doubling itself, because multiple varieties may share a similar general spread pattern while differing in their individual die surface characteristics. The coin was struck on a 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet, entered circulation without a mint mark, and features the Brenner portrait with Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial reverse design that served the denomination from 1959 through 2008.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1963 1¢ WDDO-051
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References