1935 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-001

Description

Carrying the primary obverse doubled die designation for the 1935 Lincoln wheat cent, DDO-001 shows medium spread on IN GOD WE TRUST, the eyelid, and the date on Victor David Brenner's iconic portrait that has graced the cent since 1909. VarietyVista documented this variety under UVC-1323 and DMR-002, tracking three die stages that map the variety's production life: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B where a light die crack has developed over the V.D.B. designer's initials at mid die state with the reverse also at MDS, and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The emergence of the die crack over V.D.B. at Stage B provides collectors with a valuable die state progression marker — specimens showing the crack can be confidently placed in the middle portion of this die's service life, while crack-free examples represent earlier strikes. Cross-referenced as FS-101 in the Cherrypickers' Guide (listed as FS-101 section 13.9), this variety has earned recognition in the standard attribution reference that variety collectors rely on most frequently. Philadelphia struck approximately 245.39 million cents in 1935, a Depression-era output that nonetheless consumed substantial numbers of working dies across the production year. The medium spread across three diagnostic areas — the motto, Lincoln's eyelid, and the date — indicates a hub misalignment that affected a broad swath of the die face, with the doubled eyelid providing a particularly compelling visual diagnostic because the human eye naturally focuses on portrait facial features. Collectors searching for DDO-001 should examine the eyelid area first at 10-15x magnification for the secondary contour, then confirm by checking the date digits and motto letters for consistent spread direction.

Die Markers

• UVC-1323
• DMR-002
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Light die crack over V.D.B. – MDS
• Reverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by John Blair
• FS-101
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References