1941 Lincoln Wheat Cent - Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-022

Description

Representing one of the highest-numbered doubled die obverse varieties for the 1941 Lincoln Wheat Cent, WDDO-022 — Wexler Variety ID 1941 1¢ WDDO-022 — testifies to the extraordinary depth of die variety research conducted on this record-mintage date. The existence of twenty-two or more distinct doubled die obverse events from a single year and mint speaks volumes about the manufacturing realities of 1940s coin production, where dies were handcrafted tools subject to the physical limits of the hubbing press operators and equipment. Each variety in the sequence represents a unique die, and therefore a unique production event, which may have yielded anywhere from a few thousand to several hundred thousand coins before the die was retired. High-number WDDO designations reward the most persistent researchers — those who continue examining specimens after the obvious varieties have been cataloged and who possess the equipment and expertise to detect increasingly subtle displacements on Brenner's familiar design.

Cross References

• Wexler Variety ID: 1941 1¢ WDDO-022

External References