1962 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-019
Error
Description
Offering an instructive example of how doubled working hubs propagate their characteristics across multiple dies, the 1962 Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO-019 shows slight doubling along the bottom of the B in LIBERTY as its die-level attribution feature, while also carrying doubling on the 2 in the date that traces not to this specific die's production but to the doubled working hub identified as WWHO-004. The distinction is significant: the B-of-LIBERTY doubling is unique to the WDDO-019 die, created during the hubbing of this particular working die, whereas the date doubling was inherited from the working hub itself and appears on every die produced from WWHO-004. This dual-origin doubling makes WDDO-019 a particularly interesting study in the mechanics of die production, illustrating how a single coin can carry evidence of two separate misalignment events occurring at different stages of the manufacturing chain. Carrying the Wexler Variety ID 1962 1¢ WDDO-019 with no additional cross-references, the die is marked by north-south die scratches on both sides of the bust on the obverse. The reverse provides two identification markers: a die scratch running southeast from the bottom right of the E in AMERICA, and another die scratch extending from the bottom of the first bay of the Lincoln Memorial. These reverse features offer confirmation points that are independent of the doubling characteristics and can be examined at lower magnification than the subtle bottom-of-B spread. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint during the final year of the original copper alloy composition, WDDO-019 entered general circulation where the slight B doubling would be among the first features lost to wear.
Attribution History
- Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
- None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1962 1¢ WDDO-019
- Expert attribution by Wexler Team