1956-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-005

Description

Fifth in the obverse doubled die census for the 1956-D Lincoln wheat cent, DDO-005 exhibits strong southward spread on Lincoln's eyelid — a dramatic doubling on Victor David Brenner's presidential portrait that produces one of the more visually compelling eyelid varieties in the extensive 1956-D doubled die catalog. VarietyVista assigned die identifiers UVC-1884 and DMR-026, documenting three die stages with particularly detailed Stage A information: the obverse is at early die state while the reverse carries four small die chips in the left wheat grains at mid die state plus a light die crack in the lower right wheat grains, creating an asymmetric die state profile where the reverse die shows more advanced deterioration markers than the obverse. Stage B at mid die state and Stage C at late die state remain unconfirmed. The comment notation identifies this as a "Solid 6 hub" die, referring to the style of the numeral 6 in the date — solid versus open loop being a hub identification characteristic that helps researchers track specific hubs within the manufacturing chain. Denver struck approximately 1.10 billion wheat cents in 1956, the penultimate year of the wheat reverse design, consuming vast numbers of working dies. The strong southward spread on the eyelid places the secondary impression distinctly below the primary eyelid line, creating a clearly visible doubled contour that should be detectable under moderate magnification of 5-10x on well-preserved specimens. The four die chips in the left wheat grains provide reverse die markers for Stage A confirmation, while the light die crack in the lower right wheat grains offers an additional staging diagnostic. Collectors should examine Lincoln's eye area under magnification, looking for the pronounced secondary eyelid displaced southward from the primary contour.

Die Markers

• UVC-1884
• DMR-026
• Stage A:
• Obverse is EDS
• Four small die chips in Left wheat grains – MDS
• Light die crack in lower Right wheat grains
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References