1956 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-003

Description

Proof wheat cents from the mid-1950s receive intense scrutiny from variety collectors, and WDDO-003 on the 1956 issue records a spread toward the center on IN GOD WE TRUST. The obverse carries a distinctive die marker: a die scratch running from SSW to NNE across the back of Lincoln's forehead, a feature that provides an immediate screening criterion for identifying candidate coins before undertaking the more demanding examination of the motto doubling. No significant reverse die markers were noted. The Wexler Team cataloged this as Wexler Variety ID: 1956 1c Pr WDDO-003, with no other known cross-references. Philadelphia produced approximately 669,384 proof sets in 1956, and each proof cent within those sets received multiple impressions from polished dies to achieve the mirror-finish fields and frosted devices characteristic of proof coinage. The "spread toward the center" direction on IGWT indicates the secondary hub impression displaced the motto letters inward relative to the rim, producing doubled letter images that shade toward Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait. The die scratch across the forehead — a linear incuse mark on the coin corresponding to a raised line on the die surface, likely created during die polishing or handling — provides such a specific anatomical location that collectors can screen hundreds of proof 1956 cents quickly by examining the forehead area alone. Once the die scratch is confirmed, careful magnification of IN GOD WE TRUST should reveal the inward-directed spread that defines this variety.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1956 1¢ Pr WDDO-003
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References