1951-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista with die marker codes UVC-1800 and DMR-023, the second doubled die obverse for the 1951-S Lincoln Wheat Cent displays medium spread under the BE of LIBERTY — a localized doubling pattern affecting just two letters of the inscription. An additional diagnostic note positions the S mintmark precisely: even with a line drawn from the tail of the 9 to the tail of the 5, and slightly left of a line drawn down the left edge of the 5. This mintmark positioning data provides a secondary attribution checkpoint that helps distinguish this particular obverse die from others in the 1951-S population. Three die stages are documented: Stage A is Early Die State, unconfirmed. Stage B places both the obverse and reverse in Mid Die State. Stage C is Late Die State, also unconfirmed. A VarietyVista editorial comment states "I need to see a specimen of this doubled die for new color photos and die stage information," indicating that the catalog entry would benefit from updated photographic documentation. The 1951-S cent was struck at the San Francisco Mint in bronze alloy (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) at 3.11 grams and 19.05 mm diameter. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait and the wheat stalk reverse characterize this penultimate decade of the original reverse design. The localized spread under BE of LIBERTY indicates the hub displacement vector intersected the LIBERTY inscription at a specific angle that concentrated the visible doubling on those two adjacent letters.

Die Markers

• UVC-1800
• DMR-023
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jose Cortez
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References