1929 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-001

Description

Medium extra thickness on E PLURIBUS UNUM, both wheat ears, and both stems identifies the first documented doubled die reverse for the 1929 Lincoln Wheat Cent. VarietyVista cataloged this variety with die markers UVC-1293 and DMR-002, recording three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B with reverse and obverse at mid-die state, and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The 1929 Wheat Cent was struck at Philadelphia during the final months of the Roaring Twenties, just before the stock market crash that October would trigger the Great Depression. Victor David Brenner's wheat ears reverse, featuring two stalks of durum wheat framing ONE CENT and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, had been in continuous production since 1909 and would continue through 1958. The extra thickness form of doubling — sometimes classified as Class VI — results from the hub being impressed into the die at slightly varying depths on successive impressions, causing design elements to appear bolder and wider than intended without the distinct lateral separation seen in other doubled die classes. As the sole DDR cataloged for 1929, this variety holds the distinction of being the primary reverse hub variety documented for that pre-Depression Philadelphia date.

Die Markers

• UVC-1293
• DMR-002
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Charles Bondurant
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References