1961 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-011
Error
Description
Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1961 1¢ Pr WDDO-011, this Proof doubled die obverse from the 1961 Lincoln Memorial Cent displays a close spread directed towards the rim on the date and the word TRUST. The outward spread toward the rim on these design elements indicates a Class I rotated hub doubling, where secondary impressions were displaced peripherally relative to their primary positions. Because this variety was struck as a Proof — with the deeply mirrored fields and sharp, squared-off relief characteristic of Philadelphia Proof coinage — the close spread is rendered more visible than it might be on a business strike of equivalent displacement. Examination of the obverse reveals no significant die markers, leaving the doubling pattern itself as the primary attribution tool. The reverse, however, carries a useful diagnostic: a small die gouge located below the left side of the D in UNITED, which provides an independent confirmation point once the obverse doubling has been tentatively identified. No cross-references to CONECA or other major attribution systems are currently known. Proof Lincoln Memorial cents from 1961 are collected both as mainstream Proof issues and as variety targets, and the presence of eleven documented DDO Proof varieties for this single date speaks to the frequency with which the hubbing process produced misaligned impressions on dies destined for the San Francisco and Philadelphia Proof lines during this era.
Attribution History
- Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
- None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1961 1¢ Pr WDDO-011
- Expert attribution by Wexler Team