2003 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-007

Description

The 2003 WDDR-007 Lincoln Memorial cent presents a compelling tripartite doubled die effect: doubling shows on the lower right side of the 6th column to the left of the statue's legs, on the lower left side of the 7th column to the right of the statue's knees, and an extra knee appears above and between the statue's knees. The extra knee is the most visually dramatic element, creating an obviously anomalous anatomical feature on the Lincoln statue that serves as the primary pickup point. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint on copper-plated zinc planchets weighing 2.5 grams with a 19 mm diameter, this variety carries clear die markers: a small die gouge between the B and E in LIBERTY on the obverse, and a short die crack extending NE from the top of the 4th column on the reverse. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 2003 1c WDDR-007 with no other known cross-references, this variety was cataloged by the Wexler Team. The Lincoln Memorial's architectural detail on Frank Gasparro's reverse design provides a complex three-dimensional scene where hub doubling can produce visually striking anomalies, and the extra knee effect is among the most easily identifiable of these displacement artifacts. The statue of Lincoln seated within the Memorial is rendered small enough that even minor hub doubling can create noticeable extra elements in the figure. This variety is part of the Lincoln Memorial Cents 1959-2008 series, with the 2003 Philadelphia cent mintage exceeding 3.3 billion pieces.

Attribution History

• Discovered by William Slaughter Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 2003 1¢ WDDR-007
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References