2006 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-017

Description

Notching along the upper left serifs of ERTY in LIBERTY provides the telltale diagnostic for WDDO-017, the seventeenth doubled die obverse cataloged for the 2006 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial Cent. Light extra thickness manifests across all letters of LIBERTY, but the notching effect on E, R, T, and Y — where the secondary impression creates visible steps on the serif edges — is the most reliable identification feature at moderate magnification. Obverse die markers include a small die gouge dot to the left of the second T in TRUST, while the reverse carries two attribution points: a short vertical die gouge to the left of the top of N in UNITED and a die gouge to the left of the upper first T in STATES. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 2006 1¢ WDDO-017 with no other known cross-references, this variety was attributed by the Wexler Team. Philadelphia struck over 4 billion cents in 2006, and seventeen cataloged DDOs for a single date reflects the enormous die consumption inherent in such production volumes. The serif notching diagnostic distinguishes WDDO-017 from die deterioration doubling, which produces ragged thickening without the consistent directional notch pattern characteristic of genuine hub doubling.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 2006 1¢ WDDO-017
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References