1964-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-003

Description

Cataloged as the third doubled die reverse variety for the 1964-D Lincoln Memorial Cent, WDDR-003 preserves a reverse hubbing anomaly from the Denver Mint's historic 1964 production year. The doubled die reverse mechanism is fundamentally the same as its obverse counterpart but operates on the opposite side of the coin: during reverse die manufacture, the reverse working hub — bearing Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial design — was pressed into a die blank multiple times under hydraulic force, and a slight displacement between impressions left a permanent secondary image of the reverse design elements in the die steel. Once the affected die entered service on the production line, every cent it struck carried the identical doubled reverse, distinguishing it from the far more common strike doubling that occurs during the coin striking process and varies from piece to piece. The Denver Mint's 1964 output of 3,799,071,500 cents was the largest single-facility Lincoln cent production in history, driven by the national coin shortage that had prompted emergency measures across the Mint system. This volume consumed an enormous number of reverse working dies over the course of the year, each manufactured through its own independent hubbing session. The statistical outcome was a substantial population of doubled die reverse varieties, of which WDDR-003 is one. The 1964-D cent was the last Denver Mint cent to carry the "D" mint mark before the 1965-67 suspension, a policy change enacted to discourage the speculative hoarding that had contributed to the shortage. Struck on a 95% copper and 5% tin-zinc planchet at 3.11 grams and 19mm diameter.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References