1955 Lincoln Wheat Cent - Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-001 / DDO-001

Description

The 1955 Lincoln wheat cent DDO-001, which Wexler numbers WDDO-001, is a doubled die obverse with very strong spread across the lettering, the date and Lincoln's portrait. Both catalogs give the Cherrypickers number FS-101 (21.8), which Wexler writes FS-01-1955-101 (021.8). Wexler's Coins and Die Varieties calls it an extremely strong Class I counterclockwise spread on LIBERTY, the letters of IN GOD WE TRUST, the date, and Lincoln's hair, eyelid, bowtie and coat. Obverse stage A has a small gouge over the gap between the E and R of LIBERTY. In stage B that gouge is gone, many NNW-SSE abrasion lines cross the field right of the profile and the 19 of the date, and a long scratch runs northwest off the Y in LIBERTY at its top left. Reverse stage A has two scratches running south from the crossbar of the T in CENT just left of its upright, scratches running north from the bottom right of the C and of the E in CENT, an NNW scratch off the top of the F in OF, and two parallel north-south scratches between the bottoms of the I and C of AMERICA. In reverse stage B only the two scratches under the T crossbar remain; many SSW-NNE abrasion lines cover the central left of the reverse, and a strong NNE scratch leaves the D in UNITED at its top right. Stewart Blay submitted stage A and Richard Snow stage B. CONECA lists it as 1-O-I, Breen as #2214, Crawford as CDDO-001, and Coppercoins as 1955P-1DO-001. Wexler credits Richard Snow with finding that there are two stages. As Wexler reads the evidence, at some point in the run the dies clashed, were taken out of the press and abraded to remove the clash marks, and were then put back into service; the doubled die was eventually found and withdrawn. Wexler also asks whether any coins exist that show the clash marks before they were abraded off. VarietyVista, which does not name a reporter, describes very strong spread on the date, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, the eye, the bowtie and the vest. Under its marker codes UVC-1840 and DMR-003, stage A has an early obverse and an early-state scratch running south from the inner left of the T crossbar in CENT; stage B (middle) and stage C (late) are unconfirmed.

Die Markers

• VarietyVista: UVC-1840 DMR-003 Stage A: Obverse is EDS Die scratch South from inner Left crossbar of the T of CENT – EDS Stage B: MDS (unconfirmed) Stage C: LDS (unconfirmed)

Cross References

• Wexler: 1955 1¢ WDDO-001; VarietyVista: 1955 DDO-001; CONECA: 1-O-I, Cherrypickers: FS-01-1955-101 (021.8), Breen: #2214, Crawford: CDDO-001, Coppercoins: 1955P-1DO-001

External References