1998 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-017

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as 1998 1¢ WDDR-017, this Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent carries hub doubling that is particularly sensitive to die state. Research notes from a heavily abraded later-state example of this die reveal that key hub markers become invisible as the die wears: the hub marker above the N in UNUM is not visible, the hub markers at the top of memorial bays seven and eight are not visible, and the roof hub markers are not visible. This progressive erasure means that only early and mid-die-state specimens retain the full complement of diagnostic features, while late-state coins may show none of the identifying hub markers. The die state sensitivity makes WDDR-017 a challenging variety to confirm on circulated coins, where both coin wear and die wear combine to obscure the already subtle doubling. Memorial cent collectors hunting doubled dies from the late 1990s should prioritize uncirculated examples when seeking this variety, as the abraded-die observations suggest the window of identifiable die states was limited during production.

Attribution History

• Discovered by William Slaughter Cross References: None known Comments: A heavily abraded later state example of this die showed the following. The hub marker above N in UNUM is not visible. The hub markers at the top of memorial bay 7 and 8 are not visible. The roof hub markers are not visible.
• None known Comments: A heavily abraded later state example of this die showed the following. The hub marker above N in UNUM is not visible. The hub markers at the top of memorial bay 7 and 8 are not visible. The roof hub markers are not visible.; Wexler Variety ID: 1998 1¢ WDDR-017
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References