1970-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-028

Description

Documented on the 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Memorial cent, WDDO-028 exhibits very close counterclockwise spread visible on the L in LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, and the 70 in the date — three diagnostic zones where the rotational hub displacement deposited secondary images at a tight separation from the primary design elements. The "very close" qualifier indicates that the magnitude of hub displacement is small, placing the secondary images near the primary ones and requiring careful magnified examination to detect the doubling. A die scratch extending from the G in GOD provides an obverse die marker independent of the hub doubling, while a die gouge on the first column of the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse offers a reverse die diagnostic. These two markers — the G scratch and the first-column gouge — create a die-pairing fingerprint that can confirm attribution even when the close doubling is difficult to resolve under less-than-ideal viewing conditions. No cross-references to other attribution systems have been published. The counterclockwise spread across LIBERTY, the motto, and the date is consistent with Class I rotational hub displacement, where the entire obverse design received a secondary impression offset by a small angular rotation. On the Small Date variety, where the date numerals sit at uniform height, the doubling on the 70 requires focusing on the digits' extremities — the top of the 7 and the inner loop of the 0 — where even slight displacement creates detectable anomalies under 20x or higher magnification. Collectors should use the die scratch from G and the first-column gouge as screening tools before attempting to resolve the close doubling itself.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Joe Grissell Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1970-S 1¢ WDDO-028
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References