1963 Lincoln Memorial Cent - Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-052

Description

The process that creates doubled dies was an inherent aspect of mid-twentieth-century die manufacture, in which the design was transferred from a working hub to a die blank through multiple applications of tremendous hydraulic pressure. The hub and die had to be aligned precisely for each impression, and even with the registration devices available to the Mint in 1963, slight variations in positioning between strokes could produce measurable secondary images on the finished die. Because each working die was hubbed independently, the specific character of any misalignment was unique to that die, giving rise to the individual catalog entries that make up the Wexler numbering system. WDDO-052 was struck on a 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet at the Philadelphia Mint without a mint mark, as part of a total business-strike production of 754,110,000 cents for the year. The obverse bears Victor David Brenner's portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the reverse displays Frank Gasparro's rendering of the Lincoln Memorial. Collectors searching for this variety should work under magnification with angled lighting and should have reference images readily available, as distinguishing between closely numbered varieties in the fifties requires precise die marker comparison.

Cross References

• Wexler Variety ID: 1963 1¢ WDDO-052

External References