2004 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-004

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die markers UVC-2509 and DMR-007, DDR-004 on the 2004 Lincoln Memorial Cent presents a strong spread rotated clockwise that produces two extra flutings from column number 6 — spanning from shoulder height to knee level and from hand to pedestal — plus one small extra fluting from column number 7 between knee and shin height. This rotational doubling on the Memorial columns creates a particularly striking visual effect because the vertical column flutings act as high-contrast reference lines where any rotational displacement generates clearly separated secondary fluting images. Three die stages have been documented: Stage A with both reverse and obverse in early die state, Stage B in mid die state unconfirmed, and Stage C in late die state unconfirmed. The 2004 Lincoln Memorial Cent was struck on copper-plated zinc planchets weighing 2.5 grams with a diameter of 19.05 mm at the Philadelphia Mint. The year 2004 falls within the second-to-last period of Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse production, as the design would be retired after 2008 in favor of the four 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial reverses. The strong clockwise rotational spread is mechanically consistent with a hub that was seated at a slight angular offset from the die face during the secondary impression, generating displacement that increases radially from the pivot point — explaining why the columns farther from center (numbers 6 and 7, on the right side of the Memorial) show the most pronounced extra flutings while elements closer to the rotation axis exhibit less visible separation.

Die Markers

• UVC-2509
• DMR-007
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Tom Matthews
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References