1955 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-008

Description

Eighth in the reverse doubled die census for the 1955 Lincoln wheat cent proof, DDR-008 exhibits light spread on E PLURIBUS UNUM and the upper right wheat lines on the reverse that Victor David Brenner designed to frame the denomination ONE CENT and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. VarietyVista cataloged this variety under UVC-2564 and DMR-021, documenting three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B where the reverse has reached mid die state and a die gouge has appeared on the vest by the button hole at MDS, and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The "Proof" notation confirms this die served in proof production at Philadelphia, where the 1955 proof set — containing approximately 378,200 sets — included the last proof coins struck before the Mint suspended proof set production from 1956 through 1957 due to facility constraints. The die gouge on Lincoln's vest near the button hole at Stage B provides a distinctive obverse die marker that develops at mid die state, offering collectors a secondary diagnostic to confirm the correct die pairing independent of the reverse doubling itself. Light spread on E PLURIBUS UNUM — the motto that arcs across the upper reverse between the wheat ear tips — and the upper right wheat lines indicates a modest hub displacement affecting the upper portion of the reverse die. The wheat ear design, with its fine parallel lines representing individual grain stalks, provides excellent surfaces for detecting subtle doubling, as even slight displacement creates visible secondary lines adjacent to the primary stalks. Proof strikes' sharp detail and mirror fields enhance the visibility of light spread varieties that might be imperceptible on circulation strikes with their typically softer definition.

Die Markers

• UVC-2564
• DMR-021
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse is MDS
• Die gouge on vest by button hole – MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Unknown
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References