1946-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-007

Description

Occupying the seventh position in the reverse doubled die census for the 1946-S Lincoln wheat cent, DDR-007 shows medium spread concentrated on the left wheat ear of Victor David Brenner's iconic reverse design. The wheat ear stalks that frame ONE CENT on the reverse provide elongated parallel lines where even moderate hub displacement becomes readily apparent, as the secondary impression creates a shadow stalk displaced from the primary. San Francisco struck approximately 198.1 million cents in 1946, the first full year of postwar production as the Mint transitioned back to normal operations after the wartime steel cent and shell-case alloy experiments. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-1746 and DMR-061, and the die stage documentation reveals an unusual progression: Stage A shows the reverse at early die state while the obverse has already reached late die state, indicating the dies were mismatched in terms of wear — likely because the obverse die had served with a previous reverse partner before being repaired with this doubled reverse die. Stage B sits at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). An additional diagnostic enriches the attribution: the mintmark is classified as MMS-004, described as a trumpet tail S — a distinctive mintmark variant where the lower terminal of the S flares outward like a trumpet bell rather than tapering to a standard point. This mintmark style provides a secondary confirmation independent of the reverse doubling, allowing collectors to verify the correct die by examining the S mintmark shape before focusing on the wheat ear spread. Examination should target the left wheat ear under 10-15x magnification, where the medium spread will appear as a displaced secondary stalk line adjacent to the primary.

Die Markers

• UVC-1746
• DMR-061
• Stage A:
• Reverse is EDS
• Obverse is LDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References