1963 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-007

Description

Sharing the extra-eyelid doubling characteristic seen on several 1963 P-mint DDO varieties, WDDO-007 of the Lincoln Memorial Cent presents a secondary eyelid contour below the normal eyelid, produced by a fractional misalignment of the working hub during die manufacture. What distinguishes WDDO-007 from its eyelid-doubled siblings is its unique constellation of die markers, which serves as the primary means of separating otherwise similar-looking varieties. On the obverse, a small die gouge can be found inside the upper 9 of the date, and a die scratch runs west-northwest to east-southeast to the right of the bowtie. The reverse carries its own identifying features: a die scratch runs northwest to southeast above the left cornice of the Memorial, and a die scratch runs northwest to southeast to the right of the F in OF. This combination of obverse and reverse die markers forms a fingerprint unique to the specific working die pair from which WDDO-007 was struck, and collectors should match all four marker positions when confirming attribution. The Philadelphia Mint produced 754,110,000 business-strike cents in 1963 on the standard 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet, and the hundreds of obverse working dies consumed during this production run each passed through the hubbing process independently, explaining why multiple DDO varieties share the same basic doubling expression while differing in their individual die characteristics. The die gouge inside the upper 9 is a particularly useful quick-check marker that can be spotted at moderate magnification before proceeding to a full attribution comparison.

Die Markers

• Obverse: A small die gouge can be found inside the upper 9. A die scratch runs WNW/ESE to the right of the bowtie. Reverse: A die scratch runs NW/SE above the left cornice. A die scratch runs NW/SE to the right of the F in OF.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References