1943 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-023

Description

Twenty-three DDO varieties and counting for the 1943 steel Lincoln Cent — a date whose wartime composition and historic significance have attracted decades of intensive die variety research. WDDO-023 documents another independent hubbing misalignment event from Philadelphia's 1943 die production, cataloged by the Wexler Team as Variety ID: 1943 1¢ WDDO-023 without supplementary die markers or cross-references. The zinc-coated steel composition used exclusively in 1943 — low-carbon steel strip plated with zinc to prevent corrosion — created a harder striking surface than bronze, potentially altering how hub impressions transferred to working dies and how doubling manifested on struck coins. At position twenty-three, this variety likely presents moderate to subtle doubling that requires methodical comparison against the Wexler reference diagnostics. The 1943 steel cent's cultural prominence as a wartime artifact ensures sustained collector interest that drives ongoing research, with new DDO varieties still occasionally being identified as previously unexamined populations come to market.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1943 1¢ WDDO-023
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References