1964-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-006

Description

Cataloged as the sixth doubled die obverse variety for the 1964-D Lincoln Memorial Cent in the Wexler Doubled Die Files, WDDO-006 was produced from a Denver Mint working die that acquired a secondary obverse design image during the hubbing stage of its manufacture. The hubbing process — in which a hardened working hub bearing the obverse design was pressed into a softened die blank under hydraulic force, multiple times, to achieve the full design depth — was the standard die manufacturing technique throughout the mid-twentieth century, and it carried an inherent susceptibility to misalignment whenever the hub was re-positioned between impressions. The Denver Mint's 1964 production consumed a vast quantity of obverse dies to strike the record output of 3,799,071,500 Lincoln cents, a figure that dwarfed all previous Denver cent productions and reflected the urgency of the nationwide coin shortage. This massive die consumption translates directly into a large number of independent hubbing sessions, each carrying its own probability of producing a measurable doubled die. WDDO-006 represents one session in which hub displacement occurred, creating a variety that circulated among the billions of 1964-D cents without attracting attention until identified by variety attributors. The 1964 date marked the final year that Denver-minted Lincoln cents bore the D mint mark before the three-year moratorium that began in 1965, adding a layer of historical significance for collectors. Identification requires magnified examination of the obverse design elements — date, legends, and portrait details — under directional lighting. The coin was struck on a standard 3.11-gram, 95% copper and 5% tin-zinc planchet.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References