1945 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-005

Description

Fifth cataloged doubled die reverse for the 1945 Lincoln Wheat Cent, this VarietyVista variety displays medium extra thickness on E PLURIBUS UNUM and both wheat ears. Die identifiers UVC-1676 and DMR-017 track this die pair through three stages: Stage A in early die state is unconfirmed, Stage B in mid-die state is unconfirmed, and Stage C shows both reverse and obverse at late die state. The extra thickness on both wheat ears — the two bundles of wheat stalks that frame ONE CENT on the reverse — indicates that the hub misalignment during die manufacture affected elements on both sides of the reverse design symmetrically. This is consistent with a slight shift in one axis direction that displaced the second hub impression uniformly across the die. The 1945 date marks the final year of World War II and the last year of the recycled shell casing brass composition, before the Mint returned to standard pre-war bronze in 1946. Philadelphia produced over 1.04 billion cents in 1945, continuing the extraordinary wartime production rates. Five DDRs for this date reflects a moderate level of variety documentation, and the late die state confirmation at Stage C indicates that specimens from a well-worn die pair are the most reliably attributed examples of this variety.

Die Markers

• UVC-1676
• DMR-017
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Reverse and Obverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Frank Baumann
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References