1997-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-021

Description

Identified by a bar extending from the hand to the upper leg on the right side of the Lincoln statue at the seventh column, WDDR-021 originates from a Denver Mint working die used to strike 1997-D Lincoln Memorial cents. No obverse die markers were noted, but the reverse carries three distinct diagnostics: a series of mostly parallel die scratches running through the U of UNITED and continuing to the fifth bay, a die chip near the rim below the N of ONE, and a die chip in the center of the top of the crossbar of the N in CENT. The Wexler Team reference is 1997-D 1 cent WDDR-021, with no known cross-references. The parallel die scratch field through the U of UNITED and into the fifth bay is unusual in its extent, suggesting the die received significant handling marks during manufacture or storage that left a visible trail across a broad section of the reverse. The bar feature between the hand and upper leg on the statue's right side at the seventh column differs from the sixth-column bar varieties seen on other 1997 doubled dies, establishing the seventh-column position as a distinguishing characteristic. Combined with the two die chips — one below N of ONE near the rim and another on the N of CENT — these markers create a four-point attribution map that reliably separates WDDR-021 from its twenty siblings in the 1997-D doubled reverse catalog.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Steve Young Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1997-D 1¢ WDDR-021
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References