1941-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-001

Description

Premier doubled die reverse for the 1941-S Lincoln Wheat Cent, this variety displays medium extra thickness on E PLURIBUS UNUM, both wheat ears and stems, and AMERICA — a broad distribution of doubling affecting the majority of Victor David Brenner's reverse design elements. Tracked in the VarietyVista system under UVC-1511 and DMR-019, the die state documentation reveals an interesting characteristic: Stage A shows the reverse in early die state but paired with an obverse bearing mintmark style MMS-002 (small mintmark) already in late die state, suggesting the reverse die outlasted its initial obverse pairing. Stages B and C remain unconfirmed. The MMS-002 small mintmark designation is significant because San Francisco Mint mintmark punch sizes varied during this era, and the small S serves as an additional attribution marker identifying the specific obverse die paired with this doubled reverse. The 1941-S Wheat Cent was struck in the year that saw the United States enter World War II following the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, though cent composition would not change from its standard bronze alloy until the emergency shift to zinc-coated steel in 1943. San Francisco's cent production in 1941 was modest compared to Philadelphia and Denver, making die varieties from this mint and date relatively scarce in absolute terms. As DDR-001, this variety holds the primary position among 1941-S doubled die reverses and represents the most significant reverse hubbing anomaly documented for the date, with its medium extra thickness providing a level of doubling that falls between the subtle and the dramatic on the visibility spectrum.

Die Markers

• UVC-1511
• DMR-019
• Stage A:
• Reverse is EDS
• Obverse is MMS-002 (small mintmark) – LDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References