1957 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-005

Description

A proof-only variety from the penultimate year of Lincoln Wheat Cent production, the 1957 DDO-005 shows medium extra thickness on all obverse lettering and the date — a spread broad enough to affect every inscribed element on the coin's face. VarietyVista catalogs this under Universal Variety Code UVC-1894 and Die Marker Reference DMR-007, with Stage A in Early Die State exhibiting a horizontal die gouge on Lincoln's chin as a secondary attribution marker. The proof designation means this die was prepared for collector-quality striking at Philadelphia, where polished planchets received multiple impressions from polished dies to produce mirror fields and frosted devices. That a doubled die appears on a proof issue is notable — proof dies undergo their own hubbing sequence, and any misalignment creates doubling just as on business-strike dies, but the proof's superior surface quality makes even subtle doubling more visible. With 1958 closing out the wheat ear reverse, the 1957 proof DDO-005 belongs to the series' final chapter. Examine all lettering and date numerals for the medium extra thickness, then confirm Stage A by locating the horizontal chin gouge.

Die Markers

• UVC-1894
• DMR-007
• Stage A:
• Horizontal die gouge on chin – EDS
• Reverse is EDS
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References