1962 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-011

Description

Rather than affecting inscriptions or date numerals, the 1962 Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO-011 manifests its doubling on Lincoln's portrait itself: an extra eyelid can be found below the normal eyelid, a subtle but diagnostically significant feature that places this variety in the category of design-element doubling. The doubled eyelid results from a slight vertical displacement of the working hub during die production, shifting the secondary impression of the facial details just far enough downward that the delicate eyelid line is duplicated below its primary position while the rest of the portrait — being larger and less finely detailed — absorbs the displacement without producing obviously separated images. Detecting the extra eyelid requires 10x magnification or higher and a steady hand, as the feature occupies a very small area of the coin's surface where the engraving is at its finest. The obverse die carries several distinctive scratch-based markers that aid attribution: a die scratch runs north-northwest from the top right of the Y in LIBERTY, and numerous additional die scratches, oriented mostly north-south, appear to the left and right of the bust. On the reverse, a die scratch extends west-southwest from the lower P in PLURIBUS, and a dot-like die gouge sits between the lower O and F in OF. These multiple scratch and gouge markers across both sides of the coin provide a robust fingerprint for confirming the specific die, a necessity given that several 1962 WDDO varieties share the doubled-eyelid characteristic and must be distinguished from one another by their die-specific features rather than by the doubling alone.

Die Markers

• Obverse: A die scratch runs NNW from the top right of the Y of LIBERTY. Numerous die scratches run mostly N/S to the left and to the right of the bust. Reverse: A die scratch runs WSW from the lower P in PLURIBUS. A small die gouge (dot) can be found between the lower O and F in OF.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References