1972 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-010

Description

Standing apart from DDO-005 through DDO-009 by its obverse die variant classification, DDO-010 is the only variety in this sequence struck from an ODV-027b die — the "Re-Engraved" variant — where a Mint engraver hand-reworked the Lincoln bust tie area after the initial hubbing process. This post-hubbing modification provides a critical diagnostic: specimens of DDO-010 show reworked tie detail that immediately separates them from the five preceding DDO varieties, all of which used ODV-027a (unmodified) dies. The medium-strength spread presents as an extra bar above the horizontal element of the numeral 2, similar in character to DDO-009 but produced by a different die with distinct die markers. Unique die pair identifiers UVC-2293 and DMR-013 catalog this variety. No Cherrypickers' Guide FS number has been assigned, distinguishing it from the FS-105 through FS-109 sequence of DDO-005 through DDO-009. The re-engraving of the Lincoln tie indicates that a Mint engraver inspected this die during or after the hubbing process and determined that the tie detail required strengthening — a routine quality-control intervention that nonetheless creates a permanent diagnostic distinction for variety attribution. The combination of doubled die characteristics with the re-engraved die variant makes DDO-010 doubly interesting to specialists who study both the hubbing process (which created the doubling) and the post-hubbing die preparation procedures (which created the re-engraving) as separate stages of die manufacture at the Philadelphia Mint.

Die Markers

• UVC-2293; DMR-013

External References