1967 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-003

Description

Numbered as the third Wexler doubled die obverse for the 1967 Lincoln cent, WDDO-003 is a business strike variety from the final year of the Coinage Act of 1965 no-mint-mark era. The Philadelphia Mint's 1967 production of 3,048,667,100 business strike cents was the largest of the three years without mint marks, exceeding 1966's 2,188,147,783 and 1965's 1,497,224,900 — a year-over-year escalation that reflected the Mint's intensifying effort to satisfy commercial demand and definitively end the coin shortage that had prompted the legislation. This massive output consumed an unprecedented number of working dies, each manufactured through the multi-impression hubbing process, and the statistical probability of hubbing misalignment across that vast die population yielded the multiple doubled die varieties documented for this date. The obverse carries a short vertical die gouge to the left of the bottom of the S in TRUST, serving as the primary obverse die marker. On the reverse, a die scratch runs west from the top right of the T in CENT, providing a secondary confirmation point. These die markers, while modest in number, are positioned on design elements that collectors routinely examine during variety searches, making them practical attribution aids. With mint marks scheduled to return in 1968, the 1967 cent represents the closing chapter of the no-mint-mark experiment. Struck on a 3.11-gram, 19mm planchet of 95% copper and 5% zinc.

Die Markers

• Obverse: A short, vertical die gouge can be found to the left of the bottom of the S in TRUST. Reverse: A die scratch runs west from the top right of the T in CENT.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References