1948 (S) Lincoln Wheat Cent - Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-002

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1948-S 1-cent WDDO-002 and cross-referenced as Coppercoins 1948S-1DO-002, this Lincoln Wheat Cent doubled die obverse shows a close spread to the north on the bottoms of the T and Y in LIBERTY. The Lincoln Wheat Cent, designed by Victor David Brenner (obverse) with the wheat stalks reverse, was struck at the San Francisco Mint in 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc at 3.11 grams and 19.05 mm diameter. The close northward spread on just two letters suggests a minimal hub shift during die preparation, with the displacement concentrated on the lower portions of the T and Y where the letters terminate. Obverse die markers include die scratches running north from the 19 in the date and short die scratches running north-south below the front curl of hair, along with other die scratches throughout the obverse field. On the reverse, a die scratch runs NNW from the right side of the second S in STATES. The Coppercoins cross-reference (1948S-1DO-002) places this variety within James Wiles's independent cataloging system for Lincoln Cent doubled dies, providing a secondary attribution source. The 1948-S had a mintage of 81,735,000 pieces at the San Francisco Mint, and the variety requires focused examination of the LIBERTY area under magnification to detect the close northward spread on the T and Y letter bases.

Cross References

• Coppercoins: 1948S-1DO-002; Wexler Variety ID: 1948-S 1¢ WDDO-002

External References