1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent - Doubled Die Reverse VDDR-049

Description

From the inaugural year of Victor David Brenner's Lincoln Wheat Cent, VDDR-049 exhibits a light spread on TE of UNITED, F of OF, TA of STATES, and M of AMERICA — a distribution across multiple reverse inscription elements confirming that the hub displacement affected a broad area of the die face. Three die stages document the working die's service life: Stage A in early die state, Stage B at mid-die state showing a die crack running from the back of Lincoln's bust to the rim, and Stage C in late die state. The reverse die has been identified as either RDV-004 (deep cut N, no V.D.B. initials) or RDV-003 (shallow cut N, no V.D.B. initials) — both reverse die varieties from the 1909 production run that lack the designer's initials on the reverse. The V.D.B. initials were famously removed partway through the first year of production after public criticism that they were too prominent, making non-V.D.B. reverses the continuation issue. As a doubled die from the very first year of a series that would run for half a century, VDDR-049 holds particular significance for Lincoln cent variety specialists.

Die Markers

• UVC-????
• DMR-0??
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse is MDS
• Die crack back of bust to rim – MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References