1935 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-006

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as 1935 1c WDDR-006, this Lincoln Wheat Cent doubled die reverse shows extra thickness on E PLURIBUS UNUM, both dots flanking the motto, and both wheat ears and stems — a broad distribution of doubling across multiple reverse design elements that indicates the hub misalignment affected the die comprehensively rather than in a localized zone. Extra thickness doubling, where the secondary image overlaps the primary so closely that bolding rather than separation is the visible effect, can be subtle on individual elements but becomes convincing when observed consistently across multiple inscription and design areas. Obverse die markers include light die scratches running north from the top of Lincoln's head to WE, while the reverse shows lathe marks through the top of E PLURIBUS UNUM and a light curling die scratch on the left upright of the first U in UNUM. No other cross-references are currently known. The 1935 Lincoln Wheat Cent was produced during the Great Depression, when the Philadelphia Mint struck over 245 million cents to serve an economy where every penny mattered to struggling families. Victor David Brenner's wheat ears reverse, then twenty-six years into its production run, featured the paired wheat stalks and inscriptions that would remain in service until 1958. Six doubled die reverses documented for the 1935 date represents moderate variety research depth for a pre-war Wheat Cent, as Depression-era coins received less intensive die variety study than later dates until the modern era of systematic research. The wheat ears and stems provide particularly useful diagnostic areas for detecting reverse doubling, as their fine parallel lines amplify even slight hub displacement into visible doubled imagery.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Russ LeBeau Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1935 1¢ WDDR-006
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References