1963 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-057

Description

Approaching the upper end of the business-strike DDO sequence for the 1963 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial Cent, WDDO-057 carries the Wexler Variety ID 1963 1c WDDO-057 and was attributed by the Wexler Team. At this elevation in the catalog, the variety joins a population of more than fifty distinct doubled obverse dies produced at the Philadelphia Mint during a single year, a tally that underscores the relationship between high-volume production and the frequency of die manufacturing anomalies. The 754,110,000 business-strike cents produced in 1963 flowed from a die supply chain in which working hubs were pressed into die blanks under hydraulic pressure, repeatedly, to achieve the full design depth. The precision required for consistent hub-to-die registration across thousands of individual hubbing sessions was formidable, and when the registration fell short, the result was a doubled die that carried a permanent ghost image of the design alongside the primary impression. WDDO-057 preserves one such event. Collectors should examine the obverse under at least 10x magnification, inspecting the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, the word LIBERTY, the date, and the portrait details for evidence of a secondary image. The coin was struck on a 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet without a mint mark and features the Brenner portrait with Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial reverse. Die marker comparison remains essential for confirming this specific attribution among the many high-numbered 1963 DDO varieties.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1963 1¢ WDDO-057
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References