1962 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-023
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Description
Completing the currently documented Wexler doubled die obverse catalog for the 1962 Lincoln Memorial Cent, WDDO-023 joins the eyelid-class group of varieties with its primary attribution feature: an extra eyelid visible below Lincoln's normal eyelid, the result of a slight vertical hub displacement during die production that duplicated the fine engraving of the facial details. What separates WDDO-023 from the other eyelid-doubled entries — WDDO-011, WDDO-015, WDDO-016, and WDDO-017 — is its unique combination of die markers. On the obverse, a light die scratch extends to the southeast from Lincoln's chin, a subtler version of the stronger chin-area scratch that characterizes WDDO-015 and one that requires slightly more magnification to confirm. The reverse provides more distinctive diagnostics: parallel die scratches run northward from the top of the left cornice of the Lincoln Memorial, and a separate die scratch extends to the southwest from the lower left of the first A in AMERICA. The cornice scratches are a particularly effective screening marker because the left cornice occupies a small architectural detail area that collectors can locate quickly and examine for the parallel linear pattern. Carrying the Wexler Variety ID 1962 1¢ WDDO-023 with no additional cross-references, this variety was struck at the Philadelphia Mint during the final year of the original 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc alloy composition. As the highest-numbered WDDO entry for the 1962 Lincoln cent, WDDO-023 represents the current frontier of Wexler-documented varieties for this date, though the prodigious Philadelphia mintage of over 606 million business strikes virtually guarantees that undiscovered doubled dies remain in the surviving population, awaiting identification by the next generation of sharp-eyed variety specialists.
Attribution History
- Discovered by Frank Baumann Cross References: None known
- None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1962 1¢ WDDO-023
- Expert attribution by Wexler Team