1946 (S) Lincoln Wheat Cent - Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-014

Description

Fourteen doubled die obverse varieties cataloged for the 1946-S Lincoln Wheat cent make this an unusually well-documented postwar date, and WDDO-014 represents the final entry in the known sequence. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID: 1946-S 1¢ WDDO-014 and attributed by the Wexler Team, this variety was struck at San Francisco during the first full year of peacetime production following World War II. The 1946-S mintage of approximately 198 million cents was struck in the wartime shell-case copper alloy, and production volume remained elevated as the postwar economy adjusted. Fourteen DDO varieties for the date suggest a level of die preparation variability at San Francisco that researchers have thoroughly explored. WDDO-014's position at the end of the sequence indicates this is likely one of the subtler varieties, with doubling characteristics that may require microscope-level examination and careful reference comparison for definitive attribution. The transition from wartime to peacetime coinage in 1946 brought changes in planchet composition and potentially in die steel quality, as the Mint readjusted to standard materials after years of wartime substitutions, and these metallurgical transitions may have influenced die behavior during the hubbing process.

Cross References

• Wexler Variety ID: 1946-S 1¢ WDDO-014

External References