1939 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-015

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1939 1¢ WDDO-015, this Lincoln Wheat Cent displays a second eyelid visible just east of the primary eyelid on Lincoln's portrait — a doubled die feature that creates a distinct parallel line adjacent to the natural eyelid contour, offset in the eastward direction. Obverse die markers include a die crack on the bust running above the V.D.B. designer's initials and light circular die scratches distributed across the face, neck, and jacket areas. The reverse carries its own independently cataloged doubled die variety — listed as WDDR-021 — making this yet another dual-variety die pair with doubled dies on both faces. Reverse markers are particularly abundant: a die gouge to the right of the M in UNUM, strong die clash evidence in the C of CENT with very faint clash visible on the N, die scratches running mostly north-northwest through ED STATE and AMERIC of the inscriptions, and a small die gouge (dot) to the right of the right wheat stalk at the level of the bottom of S in STATES. The die clash impressions inside CENT confirm that this die pair experienced at least one clash event during its service life, adding clash-transferred design elements to the variety's attribution features. No cross-references to other cataloging systems are currently known. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait anchors the obverse, while the wheat ears reverse design served from 1909 through 1958. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1939, composed of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc at 3.11 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. The WDDO-015 designation is closely related to WDDO-013 (Entry 14 in this batch), as both 1939 Philadelphia cents display doubled eyelid features, but they originate from different working dies with distinct die marker profiles.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1939 1¢ WDDO-015
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References