1946-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-006

Description

Sixth in the obverse doubled die census for the 1946-S Lincoln wheat cent, DDO-006 shows strong spread on the first three digits of the date — 1, 9, and 4 — with the upper right corner of the numeral 1 displaying a distinctive notch created by the displaced secondary hub impression. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait, entering its thirty-eighth year of production in 1946, provides the familiar obverse canvas on which this strong doubling manifests. VarietyVista assigned die identifiers UVC-1741 and DMR-054, documenting three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C where both obverse and reverse surfaces have progressed to late die state. The comments note two additional attributable features: the mintmark is classified as MMS-007 with a sans serif style, indicating the S mintmark on this die has a specific punch characteristic distinguishing it from other mintmark punch styles used on 1946-S cent dies. San Francisco struck approximately 198.1 million cents in 1946, a post-war production year when coinage demand surged as the economy transitioned from wartime to civilian commerce. The strong spread designation on the 194 digits — the first three characters of the date — provides a visually accessible diagnostic where the displaced secondary impressions are visible without extreme magnification, while the notched upper right corner of the 1 adds a specific attribution checkpoint unique to DDO-006. The sans serif MMS-007 mintmark classification provides a third-party confirmation point independent of the doubling itself, allowing collectors to verify the correct die through mintmark characteristics before examining the date area for the documented spread pattern.

Die Markers

• UVC-1741
• DMR-054
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References