1962 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-060

Description

Closing out the main WDDO sequence in this batch, the 1962 Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO-060 was submitted by Daniel Griffin and exhibits the same secondary-eyelid doubling south of Lincoln's normal eyelid that characterizes its immediate catalog neighbors WDDO-058 and WDDO-059. What makes WDDO-060 particularly intriguing from a die study perspective is that its die markers are very nearly identical to those documented on WDDO-059, raising the compelling possibility that these two dies were produced in close succession from the same working hub — perhaps even from consecutive hubbing sessions where similar handling conditions imparted similar physical characteristics to both dies. The cross-reference field for this variety contains a notation mentioning WDDO-061, which appears to indicate that this die may be connected to the next sequential entry in the catalog, further suggesting a small family of related dies that share both their hub-inherited doubling and their die-preparation characteristics. The variety carries the Wexler Variety ID 1962 1c WDDO-060 and was attributed by the Wexler Team. The relationship between WDDO-059, WDDO-060, and potentially WDDO-061 illustrates a phenomenon that became central to understanding the 1962 cent WDDO population after researchers discovered four different doubled working hubs for this date: individual dies produced from the same hub can carry nearly identical doubling characteristics while developing subtly different progressive die markers during their respective production lives. Collectors attempting to distinguish WDDO-060 from WDDO-059 should focus on whatever minor divergences exist in the die scratch patterns, particularly in areas where progressive features like die cracks or deterioration doubling might have developed at different rates on the two dies. This variety was struck at the Philadelphia Mint as a regular business-strike issue during 1962, the final year of the original 95% copper, 5% tin-and-zinc alloy composition. An extra eyelid shows to the south of the normal eyelid.

Attribution History

• None known 1962 1 ¢ WDDO-061; Wexler Variety ID: 1962 1¢ WDDO-060
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References