1960 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-020

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team with no known cross-references beyond Wexler Variety ID 1960 1c Pr WDDO-020, this proof Lincoln Memorial cent carries a very close Class II spread directed toward the center of the coin on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. The "very close" qualifier means the separation between primary and secondary images is minimal, requiring higher magnification — typically 10x or above — to resolve the doubled contours, but the Class II distorted hub mechanism ensures the displacement is genuine rather than mechanical. The proof designation places this coin's origin at the Philadelphia Mint, where the 1960 proof set production of 1,691,602 sets provided the striking context. A Large Date obverse die was used, placing WDDO-020 within the Large Date subvariety that collectors distinguish from the Small Date by the relative size and positioning of the date digits. Obverse die markers include a die scratch running from WSW to ENE through the top of Lincoln's ear and another die scratch extending WSW from the eye — two diagnostics that persist across die states and allow confident die-pair confirmation. The reverse carries its own markers: a die scratch running SSW from the bottom of the 11th column in the Memorial facade, along with numerous light die scratches in the last two Memorial bays. Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial reverse debuted in 1959, and by 1960 the intricate architectural detail of the Memorial colonnade was already proving productive for die marker cataloging. The close Class II spread on proof surfaces, where mirror fields meet frosted devices, can sometimes present as a slight doubling of the frost boundary rather than a conventional separation of design elements.

Attribution History

• Discovered by David Mulberry & James Sprankle Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1960 1¢ Pr WDDO-020
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References