1960 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-012

Description

Twelfth in the Wexler obverse doubled die census for the 1960 Roosevelt dime proof, WDDO-012 presents a close spread towards the center on John R. Sinnock's designer initials JS with some extra thickness on the date — a subtle doubling event on the proof coinage that Philadelphia produced for collector sets during this pivotal year. The Wexler Variety ID: 1960 10c Pr WDDO-012 confirms the proof status of this die, and the photographs documenting this variety are credited to Brian Ribar, a contributor to the Wexler die variety research effort. The year 1960 holds special significance for Lincoln cent collectors due to the famous Small Date and Large Date varieties, but the Roosevelt dime proof series from this year has its own depth of doubled die documentation, with WDDO-012 representing the twelfth such obverse variety cataloged. Philadelphia produced approximately 1.69 million proof sets in 1960, each containing a dime struck from specially prepared dies on polished planchets. The close spread towards center — indicating the secondary hub impression displaced design elements inward by a narrow margin — affects Sinnock's JS initials most prominently, where the small letterforms provide fine detail that reveals even minimal displacement. The date shows some extra thickness, a less pronounced expression of the same hub displacement. Obverse die markers include parallel die scratches running in a southwest-to-northeast direction through the lower ear of Roosevelt's portrait, providing a distinctive secondary diagnostic for identifying the correct die. No significant reverse die markers were noted. Collectors should locate the SW/NE die scratches through the lower ear to confirm the die, then examine the JS initials under 15-20x magnification with fiber-optic illumination for the inward displacement characteristic of this close spread variety.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar Cross References: None known Comments: The photos of this variety are courtesy of Brian Ribar.
• None known Comments: The photos of this variety are courtesy of Brian Ribar.; Wexler Variety ID: 1960 10¢ Pr WDDO-012
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References