1946 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-019

Description

The Wexler catalog number 1946 1¢ WDDO-019 designates a doubled die obverse produced at Philadelphia during the first full peacetime year following World War II. Hub doubling on this variety was formed during die manufacturing and represents a permanent feature of the working die. The technology of the 1940s required pressing the master hub into a softer die blank in multiple stages, building up design depth gradually. Between those applications, the die or hub could shift fractionally, and that displacement would be captured in the finished die. Philadelphia struck 991,655,000 cents in 1946, consuming working dies at a pace that made hubbing anomalies statistically inevitable. The shell-case brass composition of 95% copper and 5% zinc — recycled from military cartridge brass — gave the 1946 cent a material link to the recently concluded war. Collectors examining cents for WDDO-019 should compare specimens against Wexler reference images, noting the specific location, direction, and magnitude of doubling. The progressive numbering captures the chronology of discovery, and each addition expands the known record of Philadelphia die production for this year.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1946 1¢ WDDO-019
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References