1963 Proof Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-042

Description

Proof coins by their nature provide an optimal canvas for detecting die varieties, and the 1963 Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO-042 illustrates this principle well. The chrome-plated proof dies at the Philadelphia Mint produced coins with mirror-like fields so reflective that they function almost as optical instruments, revealing secondary hub images as faint shadows or duplicated contours against the brilliant surface. When examined under magnification with carefully positioned lighting, even minor hub displacement becomes visible on proof surfaces that would obscure it on the duller, less precisely struck surfaces of business-strike coins. WDDO-042 carries a doubled obverse image created during the multi-impression hubbing process, when the working hub shifted fractionally between applications to the proof die blank. This displacement, once fixed in the die steel, persisted through the chrome plating and polishing stages and was transmitted to every coin the die struck during its roughly 3,000-impression service life. The 3,075,645 proof cents produced in 1963 represent the culmination of the pre-shortage proof era at the Philadelphia Mint, and the sheer number of proof DDO varieties documented for this date — now exceeding seventy-five — makes it one of the most extensively studied proof cent dates in the variety specialty. The coin was struck on a 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet with Brenner's obverse portrait and Gasparro's Memorial reverse. Collectors should compare specimens against published die photographs in the Wexler Doubled Die Files for positive identification.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References