1946-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-004

Description

Fourth in the reverse doubled die census for the 1946-S Lincoln wheat cent, DDR-004 shows light spread on E PLURIBUS UNUM and the wheat ears — the signature design elements of Victor David Brenner's reverse that defined the cent from 1909 through 1958. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-0248 and DMR-007, recording three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed); Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed); and Stage C where the reverse has reached late die state and the obverse is listed as RPM-003 at late die state. The RPM-003 cross-listing is noteworthy because it means this die marriage pairs the DDR-004 reverse with a documented repunched mintmark obverse — potentially giving collectors two distinct attributable varieties on a single coin. An additional comment identifies the mintmark as MMS-004 (trumpet tail), referring to a specific mintmark style where the S mintmark displays an elongated lower terminal resembling a trumpet bell. San Francisco struck approximately 198.1 million cents in 1946, the first full year of post-war production as the economy transitioned from wartime footing. The trumpet tail mintmark style provides yet another diagnostic checkpoint, as the S mintmark's distinctive lower curve helps confirm the obverse die independent of the repunching. Light spread on E PLURIBUS UNUM and the wheat ears requires careful examination under 15x magnification — the thin wheat stalk lines and the serif details of the inscription letters most clearly reveal the subtle displacement between primary and secondary hub impressions. Collectors who locate this variety effectively acquire three attributable characteristics on one coin: the DDR-004 reverse doubling, the RPM-003 mintmark repunching, and the MMS-004 trumpet tail mintmark style.

Die Markers

• UVC-0248
• DMR-007
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Reverse is LDS
• Obverse is LISTED as RPM-003 – LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Unknown
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References