1944-S Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-005

Description

Fifth documented doubled die reverse for the 1944 San Francisco Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, WDDR-005 demonstrates that even the smallest of the three wartime mint facilities generated a meaningful population of hub doubling varieties during its cent production. San Francisco's 1944 cent output, while below Philadelphia and Denver, still required substantial numbers of working die pairs manufactured through the same multi-step hubbing process that created DDRs at all three facilities. The recycled brass shell casing alloy used for 1944 cents gave San Francisco's output the same distinctive golden coloring found on Denver and Philadelphia issues from that year. Five DDRs for the 1944-S date positions the San Francisco facility as a productive source of doubled die material during the wartime production years, contributing to the broader catalog of 1944 DDRs that spans all three mints. Each DDR in the sequence preserves a unique hub misalignment — a specific combination of directional shift, rotational displacement, and magnitude that occurred during that particular die's manufacture. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID: 1944-S 1¢ WDDR-005, this variety is most effectively attributed by examining the reverse wheat ear details and peripheral lettering under magnification to confirm the direction and extent of hub doubling.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1944-S 1¢ WDDR-005
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References