1940 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-019

Description

Nineteenth in the Wexler-documented obverse doubled die census for the 1940 Lincoln wheat cent, WDDO-019 displays Class I clockwise spread on the date, IN GOD WE TRUST (IGWT), and the letters LIBE in LIBERTY. Class I doubling in the Wexler classification system results from a rotated hub mechanism where the working hub pivoted around its center between impressions, producing displacement that increases with distance from the rotation axis — letters farther from the pivot show greater separation between primary and secondary images. The obverse die carries two diagnostic markers: a roughly horizontal die scratch on the upper ear and a die scratch on the nose running in a south-southwest to north-northeast direction. The reverse provides a third confirmation point: a die scratch running north-northwest above the right side of O in ONE. These three die-specific scratches create a triangulation of secondary diagnostics that collectively fingerprint this particular die marriage with high confidence. Philadelphia struck approximately 586.8 million cents in 1940, the year before U.S. entry into World War II, when production volumes were ramping up in response to growing economic activity. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID: 1940 1¢ WDDO-019, with no additional attribution system listings currently known. The Class I clockwise rotation means the doubling should be most pronounced on design elements farthest from the hub's center of rotation, potentially making the date digits and the outer portions of the IGWT inscription show greater displacement than elements closer to the hub's pivot axis. Collectors should systematically locate all three die scratches — ear, nose, and above O — before evaluating the rotational doubling on the date and motto.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Whaden Curtis Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1940 1¢ WDDO-019
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References