1956-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-004

Description

Fourth in the documented family of 1956 Denver Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent doubled die obverses, WDDO-004 captures a hub misalignment from the penultimate full year of Wheat Cent production at the Denver facility. The Wexler Team assigned this the identifier 1956-D 1c WDDO-004. Denver's 1956 output of 1,098,201,100 cents shattered production records and stood as one of the highest single-year mintages in Lincoln cent history up to that point, requiring an extraordinary number of working dies — each one hubbed in multiple impressions, each impression an opportunity for misalignment. A cluster of four or more DDOs from this date-mint reflects the statistical reality of that massive die population. WDDO-004's position within the sequence means three other documented varieties share the same date, mintmark, and fundamental design, and attribution demands precise characterization of the spread on each affected design element. Key diagnostic areas on Brenner's obverse include the vertical strokes of LIBERTY (where spread perpendicular to the stroke direction is most visible), the connected and overlapping curves of the date numeral 6, and the small lettering of IN GOD WE TRUST (where letter height amplifies proportional displacement). The return to standard 95% copper bronze composition after the wartime brass interlude means these cents display the classic reddish-to-brown toning progression, and original red surfaces — when present — offer the highest contrast for detecting fine doubled impressions. A loupe of at least 7x or a stereo microscope set to 10x provides adequate resolving power for field identification of this variety.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1956-D 1¢ WDDO-004
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References