2013 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-006

Description

Extra thickness on the ERTY of LIBERTY, best seen on the upper left of the Y, provides the primary diagnostic for WDDO-006 on the 2013 Lincoln Shield Cent. Lyndall Bass's obverse portrait of Lincoln, introduced in 2010 alongside the Union Shield reverse, presents subtly different diagnostic surfaces than the classic Brenner portrait used from 1909 through 2008 — and ERTY doubling on this updated design produces thickened letters that can be distinguished from die deterioration doubling by their consistent spread direction. Obverse die markers include a die crack running SSW to NNE through the hair to the left of the upper ear. Reverse die markers are more extensive: a die crack runs along the top of the left side of the shield, and another die crack extends north from the P in PLURIBUS to the top of the shield. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 2013 1¢ WDDO-006 with no other known references, this variety was attributed by the Wexler Team. The multiple die cracks across both obverse and reverse indicate this die was well into its service life, and the presence of cracks on both sides suggests the die pair had been in use long enough for stress-induced fractures to develop on each die independently. Philadelphia struck approximately 3.3 billion Shield Cents in 2013, providing vast material for variety researchers to examine.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Allen Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 2013 1¢ WDDO-006
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References