1997 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-020

Description

On the reverse of this 1997 Lincoln Memorial cent, a bar extends from the upper leg to the upper base, positioned to the left of the Lincoln statue on the sixth column — the hallmark diagnostic of WDDR-020. While no obverse die markers were noted, the reverse reveals a cluster of four die gouges: one to the west of the memorial roof, one to the east of the memorial roof, one west of the bottom of the first column, and one west of the memorial base. The Wexler Team assigned the catalog code 1997 1 cent WDDR-020, with no cross-references established in other attribution systems. The bar's position — connecting the upper leg region to the upper base along the sixth column — indicates hub displacement that shifted the statue's lower body elements relative to the architectural framework, producing an extra raised element in the transition zone between the figure and the building's base. Four distinct die gouges distributed across the memorial roof and column areas create a robust attribution fingerprint, since die gouges are accidental marks unique to individual working dies and persist regardless of die state. The 1997 Lincoln cent from the Philadelphia Mint represents a period of high annual production volume, generating a correspondingly large population of working dies and, consequently, a deep catalog of doubled die varieties — WDDR-020 being the twentieth documented reverse entry for this date alone.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Steve Young Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1997 1¢ WDDR-020
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References