2009 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-013

Description

Documented through VarietyVista with die markers UVC-2997 and DMR-015, DDR-013 on the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial Cent exhibits medium spread directed west, manifesting as an extra partial column in the upper window positioned west of the fourth column on the reverse design. The 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial program featured four distinct reverse designs spanning Abraham Lincoln's life, and this variety appears on the "Professional Life in Illinois" design depicting the partially built Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield. The fourth column of the Capitol's classical portico serves as the reference point — the secondary hub impression shifted the column image westward, producing a ghost column that appears as if an additional structural member exists in the upper window area. Die stage progression shows Stage A with both reverse and obverse in early die state, while Stages B and C remain unconfirmed at mid- and late-die state respectively. The Capitol building reverse was designed by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Don Everhart, and its architectural precision — columns, windows, pediments, and entablatures rendered in neoclassical geometry — makes it exceptionally responsive to directional hub doubling diagnosis. A westward-displaced column creates an unambiguous diagnostic because the regular column spacing on the original design has no provision for an extra element, making the ghost column immediately identifiable as a variety marker. The 2009 Bicentennial cents were struck in copper-plated zinc at Philadelphia, and the special four-design program generated intense collector interest that drove systematic variety searching from the moment the coins entered circulation.

Die Markers

• UVC-2997
• DMR-015
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References