1968-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-001

Description

The first cataloged Wexler doubled die reverse for the 1968-D Lincoln cent, WDDR-001 displays a very strong Class V clockwise spread from a pivot point at approximately 7:00, visible on an impressive range of reverse design elements: the letters of USA, E PLURIBUS UNUM (abbreviated as EPU), the dots flanking ONE CENT, the designer's initials FG (Frank Gasparro), and the letters of CENT. Class V pivoted hub doubling occurs when the hub rotates around an off-center pivot point between successive impressions during die manufacture, creating a spread that fans outward with increasing magnitude the farther a design element sits from the pivot. With the pivot at approximately 7:00 (corresponding to the lower-left area of the reverse), the strongest doubling appears on elements in the upper-right quadrant opposite the pivot, while areas near the pivot show minimal spread. The breadth of affected elements — spanning the denomination, national motto, attribution initials, and decorative details — makes this an exceptionally well-expressed doubled die reverse that offers collectors multiple diagnostic areas for confirmation. The 1968-D cent was struck at the Denver Mint during the first year that mint marks returned to U.S. coinage after the three-year Coinage Act of 1965 hiatus, a historically significant resumption that also enabled repunched mint mark varieties for the first time since 1964. Obverse die markers are documented but the source reference is incomplete. Struck on a 3.11-gram, 19mm planchet of 95% copper and 5% zinc.

Die Markers

• Obverse

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References