1958 Lincoln Wheat Cent - Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-005

Description

Fifth doubled die reverse for the 1958 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, WDDR-005 comes from the absolute final year of the wheat ears reverse design that had graced American cents since 1909. When the Lincoln Memorial reverse replaced the wheat ears in 1959, the 1958 date became the terminal issue — lending every variety from this date a finality that enhances its appeal to collectors. Doubled die reverses on the 1958 Wheat Cent preserve doubled design elements that were embedded into the working die during manufacture, when multiple hubbing passes failed to align perfectly. The resulting die carried overlapping images of the wheat stalks, legends, or other reverse elements, and transferred those features to every cent it struck. Five DDRs for the final year suggest that die production conditions in 1958 were consistent with those of earlier years — hub misalignment remained a normal byproduct of the multi-pass die sinking process regardless of the design's approaching obsolescence. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID: 1958 1¢ WDDR-005, this variety holds particular significance for collectors who focus on terminal-year varieties or seek to assemble a complete DDR inventory for the last Wheat Cent production year.

Cross References

• Wexler Variety ID: 1958 1¢ WDDR-005

External References