1968-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-004

Description

Among the doubled die obverse varieties cataloged for the 1968-D Lincoln cent, DDO-004 exhibits a medium spread on IN GOD WE TRUST — one of the obverse's most prominent motto inscriptions and a frequent location for visible hub doubling on Lincoln Memorial cents. The 1968 date marks a watershed moment in American numismatics: after three years without mint marks under the Coinage Act of 1965, Congress restored mint identification to all U.S. coins. The Denver Mint's D mint mark returned to the Lincoln cent for the first time since 1964, and San Francisco resumed proof production with the S mark, ending the experiment in mint mark suppression that had been intended to combat coin hoarding during the national coin shortage. The restoration of mint marks also reintroduced the possibility of repunched mint mark varieties, which had been impossible during the 1965—1967 no-mint-mark years. For doubled die varieties like DDO-004, the return of normal production at Denver meant that the cent was once again being struck at multiple facilities from dies manufactured at Philadelphia, and the logistics of hubbing dies for distribution to Denver introduced additional opportunities for the misalignment between hub impressions that creates doubled die varieties. Die markers UVC-2545 and DMR-014 are recorded for this variety, providing identification reference points beyond the doubling pattern itself. Struck on a 3.11-gram, 19mm planchet of 95% copper and 5% zinc at the Denver Mint.

Die Markers

• UVC-2545; DMR-014

External References