1988 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-003

Description

Completing the trio of Wexler-cataloged doubled die reverses for the 1988 Lincoln Memorial cent, WDDR-003 concentrates its doubling on three distinct zones: the lower letters of AMERICA, the upper letters of ONE CENT, and the designer's initials FG. The involvement of Frank Gasparro's initials is diagnostically significant because the small, precisely engraved letters of the designer's monogram show even minor displacement with clarity, making the FG area one of the first places experienced cherry-pickers examine when screening for reverse doubling on Memorial cents. The spread toward the rim on AMERICA and upward on ONE CENT indicates the secondary hub impression shifted outward from the die center, displacing peripheral and lower design elements while leaving the Memorial building and central reverse devices relatively unaffected. On the reverse, a small die gouge to the left of the top of the F in OF provides a reliable attribution marker for confirming this specific die. The obverse shows no significant die markers, which in itself is a useful distinguishing characteristic — where WDDR-001 and WDDR-002 each carry heavily scratched obverse dies, WDDR-003's relatively clean obverse narrows the identification immediately. Attributed by the Wexler Team and struck at the Philadelphia Mint on copper-plated zinc planchets composed of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, weighing 2.5 grams at 19mm.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Billy G. Crawford Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1988 1¢ WDDR-003
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References