2012 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-001

Description

The Wexler Team cataloged this 2012 Lincoln Shield cent as WDDR-001, a doubled die reverse displaying doubling on the lower letters of ONE CENT with the spread increasing from left to right. Additional doubling appears on the lower portion of the Union shield and both sets of designer's initials, with the J in JFM (Joseph F. Menna, the reverse sculptor) showing particularly clear displacement. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint on copper-plated zinc weighing 2.5 grams with a 19 mm diameter, this variety is cross-referenced as Coppercoins 2012P-1DR-001, providing dual-catalog attribution. Obverse die markers include a die crack running from south-southwest to north-northeast through the upper hair south of the W in WE, a diagnostic that helps authenticate the specific die pair. The reverse carries a small die gouge between the 3rd and 4th stripes on the central part of the shield. Lyndall Bass designed the Shield reverse introduced in 2010, featuring a heraldic Union shield with thirteen vertical stripes representing the original colonies topped by a horizontal scroll bearing the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. The increasing left-to-right spread pattern on ONE CENT is consistent with Class I rotational doubling, where the working hub rotated slightly between impressions, creating progressively wider displacement as distance from the rotation axis increases. As the WDDR-001 designation indicates, this is the primary doubled die reverse cataloged for the 2012 date in the Lincoln Shield Cents 2010 to Date series.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jon A. Rice Cross References: Coppercoins: 2012P-1DR-001
• Coppercoins: 2012P-1DR-001; Wexler Variety ID: 2012 1¢ WDDR-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References