1998-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-004

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1998-D 1¢ WDDR-004 and cross-referenced as Crawford CDDR-004, this Lincoln Memorial Cent features a strong slanted partial extra column running through the left side of the statue within the Lincoln Memorial design — a visually prominent doubling manifestation where the hub displacement created a ghost image of one of the Memorial's columns overlapping with the seated Lincoln statue area. Obverse die markers include a die gouge between the upper L and I of LIBERTY and a die gouge below the right side of the N in IN, both providing reliable portrait-side identification points. The reverse carries three diagnostic markers: a die gouge inside the lower C of AMERICA, a die gouge to the right of the bottom of the last Memorial column, and a die gouge extending east-northeast from the bottom right side of the first column. The Crawford CDDR-004 cross-reference places this variety in the Crawford doubled die catalog alongside the Wexler listing, confirming independent documentation by two major attribution services. The Lincoln Memorial Cent was struck at the Denver Mint in 1998 in copper-plated zinc composition (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.5 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial reverse, depicting the building's twelve-column facade with the seated Lincoln statue visible between the central columns, provides the architectural framework within which column-doubling varieties like this one manifest as particularly recognizable anomalies. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse portrait. The slanted orientation of the extra column distinguishes this variety from vertical column-doubling varieties, indicating the hub displacement vector had a diagonal component relative to the Memorial's architectural alignment.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Joseph Koelling Cross References: Crawford: CDDR-004
• Crawford: CDDR-004; Wexler Variety ID: 1998-D 1¢ WDDR-004
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References