1964-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-011

Description

The eleventh doubled die obverse variety cataloged for the 1964-D Lincoln Memorial Cent, WDDO-011 adds another entry to a growing register of hubbing anomalies from the Denver Mint's peak production year. The 3,799,071,500 cents struck at Denver in 1964 required a die-manufacturing operation of enormous scale, with new obverse dies being hubbed, hardened, and placed into service on a continuous basis throughout the year to sustain the production rate needed to address the coin shortage. The multi-impression hubbing process — standard die-manufacturing technology of the era — required the working hub to be aligned precisely with the die blank for each successive impression, and deviations from perfect alignment produced the doubled images that variety collectors now systematically document. WDDO-011 was created by one such deviation and subsequently struck a run of circulation-quality Lincoln cents before the die wore to the point of replacement. These coins entered the commercial supply chain unmarked and unexamined, joining the billions of 1964-D cents that circulated throughout the economy. The passage of decades has allowed variety specialists to identify and attribute these coins, building a catalog that now extends well beyond the first few dramatically doubled examples to encompass subtler varieties that require careful magnified examination. The 1964 date is the last to bear the Denver D mint mark before the 1965-67 removal, and the coin was struck on the standard 95% copper and 5% tin-zinc planchet that served the Lincoln cent denomination. Collectors should verify attribution through comparison with published Wexler reference photographs.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References