1999 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-025

Description

Gasparro's Memorial reverse transformed the Lincoln Cent when it debuted in 1959, replacing the Wheat Ears that had appeared since 1909. By 1999 the design had reached its fortieth year, and the architectural precision that made it visually distinctive also made it a fertile ground for die variety research. The twelve columns of the Memorial facade function almost like a ruler: when hub displacement occurs, the columns register the shift as parallel secondary lines whose spacing and intensity reveal both the direction and magnitude of the misalignment. WDDR-025 from the 1999 Philadelphia production is one of at least two hundred varieties cataloged for the year, each recording a unique displacement event on this architectural canvas. The seated Lincoln statue visible through the central opening, the steps ascending to the colonnade, and the inscribed mottoes above and below the building all provide additional diagnostic zones where doubling may manifest in ways that differentiate one WDDR from the next. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 1999 1¢ WDDR-025.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1999 1¢ WDDR-025
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References