1959 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-011

Description

Appearing on the inaugural year of the Lincoln Memorial reverse — Frank Gasparro's design that replaced the Wheat Ears reverse in 1959 and would continue through 2008 — this WDDR-011 documents a hub displacement event from the very first production run of a design destined to become one of the longest-serving in American coinage. The obverse is in late die state, with a die crack running from the top of Lincoln's ear north-northeast to the rim between the W and E of WE, tracing progressive structural failure in the die steel. On the reverse, a die gouge sits on the roof above the eleventh Memorial column, providing a precise architectural reference point for attribution. The 1959 Memorial reverse introduced the twelve-column Lincoln Memorial facade to the cent, creating a design element that would prove extraordinarily sensitive to hub doubling — vertical columns translate even modest displacement into clearly visible secondary impressions. As a first-year-of-type variety, WDDR-011 belongs to the foundation layer of what would become one of the deepest doubled die censuses in American numismatics.

Die Markers

• Obverse: LDS. A die crack runs from the top of the ear NNE to the rim passing between the W and E of WE. Reverse: A die gouge can be found on the roof above the 11th Memorial column.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References