1945 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-002

Description

Among the earlier discoveries in the 1945 Lincoln wheat cent DDO census, WDDO-002 was cataloged by the Wexler Team under the designation 1945 1¢ WDDO-002 with no cross-references to CONECA or Fivaz-Stanton listings. As the second documented DDO for this date, WDDO-002 likely represents one of the more prominent or more easily identified doubled die obverses from 1945, since lower catalog numbers in the Wexler system often (though not always) correspond to varieties discovered earlier due to their greater visibility. The final year of wartime shell-case alloy cent production, 1945 saw Philadelphia mint an extraordinary 1.04 billion pieces, ensuring that the surviving population of all die varieties for this date remains substantial. The recycled brass composition gives these cents a distinctive golden-bronze tone when uncirculated, though circulated examples typically develop the familiar brown patina common to all copper-alloy cents. Doubling on the obverse affects design elements that were first placed on the cent in 1909 when Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait debuted -- the same basic obverse hub had been in use for 36 years by 1945, refined and modified over the decades but fundamentally unchanged. Specific details of the doubling on WDDO-002 (spread direction, affected elements, class of hub doubling) require examination against the published Wexler photographs and diagnostic descriptions. Collectors pursuing a complete wartime-era DDO set across the 1942-1945 date range will need WDDO-002 to represent 1945 alongside its companion varieties, and the billion-plus mintage ensures that patient roll searching can yield results.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1945 1¢ WDDO-002
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References