1936 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-011

Description

Eleventh in the obverse doubled die census for the 1936 Lincoln wheat cent, DDO-011 exhibits light extra thickness on three major design elements: the date, LIBERTY, and the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. VarietyVista assigned die identifiers UVC-1346 and DMR-013, with three documented die stages. Stage A at early die state remains unconfirmed. Stage B, confirmed at mid die state, reveals a diagnostic die crack running over the V.D.B. designer's initials on the obverse truncation of Lincoln's shoulder, accompanied by a reverse at mid die state as well. Stage C at late die state is unconfirmed. An additional diagnostic note records a broken R in LIBERTY — a feature where the letter R shows incomplete formation or a small chip, providing a secondary identification marker independent of the doubling itself. Philadelphia struck approximately 309.63 million wheat cents in 1936, a Depression-era output that had recovered significantly from the severely reduced mintages of 1931-1933. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait, with the date positioned at the lower right and LIBERTY ascending vertically at the left, distributes the affected design elements across different regions of the obverse, indicating a broad hub displacement during the die manufacturing process. The light extra thickness classification means the doubling manifests as slightly widened strokes and serifs rather than dramatically separated secondary impressions — collectors should examine the individual digits of the date, the letter strokes of LIBERTY (particularly the broken R), and the small letters of IN GOD WE TRUST under 15-20x magnification. The die crack over V.D.B. at Stage B provides the most reliable secondary diagnostic for confirming this specific die before assessing the doubling characteristics.

Die Markers

• UVC-1346
• DMR-013
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Die crack over V.D.B. – MDS
• Reverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References