1963 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-047

Description

Returning to the business-strike portion of the 1963 DDO catalog, WDDO-047 of the Lincoln Memorial Cent was struck at the Philadelphia Mint as part of the year's total output of 754,110,000 cents for general circulation. At this volume, the Mint consumed working dies rapidly, and each die was individually manufactured through the multi-impression hubbing process, creating a distinct opportunity for misalignment with every die produced. WDDO-047 represents one of these misalignment events: a fractional offset of the working hub between impressions left a secondary image permanently engraved in the die face, which was then reproduced on every coin the die struck during its service life. This characteristic distinguishes true doubled die varieties from other forms of doubling. Machine doubling, for example, occurs during the striking process itself and produces flat, shelf-like displacement that varies from coin to coin, while die deterioration doubling develops gradually as a die wears and becomes progressively more pronounced on later strikes. Hub doubling, by contrast, is consistent and sharp across all specimens from the same die. Attributed by the Wexler Team and cataloged under Wexler Variety ID 1963 1c WDDO-047, this variety should be confirmed through comparison with published reference photographs. The coin was struck on a 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet without a mint mark, bearing the familiar Brenner portrait and Gasparro Memorial design. The year 1963 stands as the second-to-last before the coin shortage era reshaped American cent production.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1963 1¢ WDDO-047
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References