1962 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-031
Error
Description
Among the higher-numbered doubled die obverse varieties documented for the 1962 Lincoln Memorial Cent, DDO-031 preserves a light spread affecting the final T of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST and the digit 2 in the date. These two design elements sit on opposite sides of the obverse — TRUST arcs across the upper right while the date occupies the lower right — and their shared involvement reveals a hub displacement geometry that traversed a broad swath of the right-hand field. The variety originated at the Philadelphia Mint, where over 606 million business-strike cents were produced in 1962, the final year the Lincoln cent was struck in the original 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc alloy introduced in 1909. That enormous output required hundreds of working dies, each produced from working hubs on which the slightest shift between impressions could impart doubled details to every coin the die subsequently struck. DDO-031 is tracked under catalog references UVC-2057 and DMR-055. Because the spread is classified as light, collectors should examine both attribution zones under at least 10x magnification, comparing the vertical stroke of the second T in TRUST and the curved bowl of the 2 for secondary outlines or subtle thickening that betrays the doubled hub impression.
Die Markers
- UVC-2057; DMR-055