1943-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-010

Description

Struck on zinc-coated steel planchets — the only year in U.S. coinage history when cents were produced in steel rather than bronze — the 1943-S Lincoln Wheat Cent WDDO-010 documents a tripled die obverse where three separate hub impressions created two extra eyelids below Lincoln's normal eyelid. The triple hubbing required three misaligned impressions of the hub into the working die, each slightly offset, producing a stacked effect of three distinct eyelid contours visible under magnification. This Wexler Team attribution carries the cross-reference "1943-S 1-cent WDDO-010." Obverse die markers include die scratches running east from the E in WE of IN GOD WE TRUST, while the reverse shows a die chip inside the lower E in ONE CENT. The 1943 steel cent composition — zinc-coated steel at 2.7 grams, lighter than the standard 3.11-gram bronze — was an emergency wartime measure to conserve copper for military applications. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait appears on the magnetically attracted steel planchet, struck at the San Francisco Mint. Examine Lincoln's eye area under magnification for the two extra eyelids below the normal one, then verify the obverse die scratches at E in WE and the reverse die chip in the lower E of ONE.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Aaron Gleghorn Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1943-S 1¢ WDDO-010
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References