1944-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-011

Description

Eleventh obverse doubled die documented for the 1944-S Lincoln wheat cent, DDO-011 presents light spread in both north and south directions as extra eyelids — a bilaterally displaced doubling where the secondary hub impression created visible eyelid lines both above and below Lincoln's primary eyelid on Victor David Brenner's portrait. VarietyVista cataloged this variety under UVC-2924 and DMR-029, with three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B where a strong and wide die gouge through the O of GOD provides a mid die state diagnostic while the reverse is also at MDS, and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The Stage B die gouge through the O of GOD — described as both strong and wide — serves as the most prominent secondary diagnostic for this variety, providing a die identification checkpoint that is likely more visually conspicuous than the subtle eyelid doubling itself. The comment notation specifies the mintmark as MMS-005 (straight serifs), identifying a particular S mintmark style characterized by straight-line serifs rather than the curved or tapered serifs found on other mintmark variants. San Francisco struck approximately 282.8 million cents in 1944, a wartime production year when cent composition used recycled copper shell casings rather than standard virgin copper. The north-and-south extra eyelid pattern — doubling displaced both above and below the primary — is unusual because most doubled die varieties show displacement in a single direction; the bilateral spread suggests a wobble or oscillation during the hubbing process that displaced the secondary impression alternately above and below the primary position. Collectors should locate the strong die gouge through the O of GOD first at 10x magnification to confirm the correct die, then examine Lincoln's eye area under 15-20x for the extra eyelid lines both above and below the normal eyelid contour.

Die Markers

• UVC-2924
• DMR-029
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Strong and wide die gouge through O of GOD – MDS
• Reverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References