1957 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-010

Description

As the tenth cataloged doubled die obverse for the penultimate wheat cent date, the 1957 WDDO-010 occupies a meaningful position in the late-series Lincoln cent variety census. The Wexler Team attributed this die under the designation 1957 1¢ WDDO-010, with no additional cross-references established in other cataloging systems. Philadelphia struck 282.5 million cents in 1957, the second-to-last year of the wheat ears reverse that had graced the denomination since 1909. By the mid-1950s, the Mint's die preparation process had become increasingly standardized, yet the multi-impression hubbing technique still occasionally produced misalignment between successive hub applications, resulting in doubled die varieties across all actively produced denominations. The fact that ten distinct DDO varieties have been documented for the 1957 Philadelphia cent alone underscores how even a single year's production from one mint facility could generate numerous die varieties within the tens of millions of coins struck. Wheat cent DDO varieties from 1957 compete for collector attention with the far more famous 1955 and 1958 doubled dies, but they offer their own appeal as part of the comprehensive late-series census. Examination under a 10x loupe should focus on LIBERTY, the date, and IN GOD WE TRUST, where the doubled impression typically manifests as extra thickness, separation, or notching on the letter strokes and numerals. Collectors building a complete set of wheat cent DDO varieties by date will need WDDO-010 alongside its nine companion listings to represent 1957 fully.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1957 1¢ WDDO-010
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References