1946 (D) Lincoln Wheat Cent - Doubled Die Obverse DDO-008

Description

Emerging from the first full year of post-World War II cent production, DDO-008 for the 1946-D Lincoln wheat cent exhibits a medium spread directed north that manifests as an extra eyelid on Lincoln's portrait -- one of the most diagnostically distinctive doubled die signatures in the entire wheat cent series. VarietyVista cataloged this die pair under UVC-2929 with die markers reference DMR-033, documenting a three-stage die life. Stage A, the early die state, is identified by a long die gouge running through the field under LIBERTY, accompanied by the reverse also presenting in EDS. Stages B and C at mid and late die state remain unconfirmed, leaving open the possibility that later-state examples with progressive die deterioration await discovery. The northward spread direction on a Lincoln obverse places the doubled image above the primary design, and when that doubling intersects Lincoln's eye, it produces the appearance of a second eyelid that hovers slightly above the original -- a feature that catches the eye even on circulated specimens. Denver struck 315,690,000 wheat cents in 1946, the first full post-war year, still in the shell case copper alloy used since 1944. Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait, with its fine engraving of Lincoln's facial features, hair, and beard, transforms even minor hub misalignment into anatomically suggestive anomalies, and the extra eyelid on DDO-008 is a textbook example of how doubling can create physiologically impossible but visually arresting effects.

Die Markers

• UVC-2929
• DMR-033
• Stage A:
• Long die gouge in field under LIBERTY – EDS
• Reverse is EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References