1945-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-007

Description

Extra eyelid spread to the South provides the primary diagnostic for DDO-007 on the 1945 Denver Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, a wartime issue struck during the final months of World War II when Denver's production capacity was stretched to meet both military and civilian coinage demands. Die markers tracked under UVC-1697 and DMR-024 reveal a well-documented three-stage die progression: Stage A in Early Die State showing a die gouge Northeast from the first T of TRUST with the reverse already in Late Die State, Stage B at Mid Die State (unconfirmed), and Stage C at Late Die State (unconfirmed). The pairing of an EDS obverse with an LDS reverse in Stage A indicates asymmetric die wear — the reverse die had already seen substantial service before being paired with this fresh obverse die, a common practice when the mint sought to maximize die utilization during the resource-constrained wartime period. Denver struck 266,268,000 Lincoln Cents in 1945, a substantial output that made this date readily available in circulated grades while still harboring undiscovered varieties. Cataloged by VarietyVista, the eyelid doubling on Lincoln's portrait is among the most sought-after diagnostics in wheat cent variety collecting because it appears on the coin's most prominent facial feature, making DDO-007 identifiable even at moderate magnification without specialized equipment.

Die Markers

• UVC-1697
• DMR-024
• Stage A:
• Die gouge Northeast from first T of TRUST – EDS
• Reverse is LDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Bill McMurray
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References