1963 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-053

Description

Variety specialists who have worked through the 1963 P-mint Lincoln Memorial Cent DDO catalog from single-digit entries into the fifties encounter WDDO-053 as one of many varieties that collectively paint a picture of die production at the Philadelphia Mint during a period of extraordinary demand for circulating coinage. Attributed by the Wexler Team under the designation Wexler Variety ID 1963 1c WDDO-053, this doubled die obverse variety was created during the multi-impression hubbing process in which the obverse design was sunk into a working die blank. The cumulative inventory of more than fifty distinct DDO dies for the 1963 P-mint cent indicates that hub-to-die misalignment was a persistent condition in the die shop rather than an isolated occurrence, a conclusion supported by the similar variety counts seen on other high-mintage Lincoln cent dates from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Each of the 754,110,000 business-strike cents produced in 1963 was struck from one of these working dies, and collectors who systematically search through uncirculated rolls from this date can still encounter attributed varieties. The 95% copper and 5% zinc composition gives well-preserved specimens the original red luster that aids in detecting subtle doubling, and the absence of a mint mark is standard for all Philadelphia issues of the era. Collectors should consult the Wexler Doubled Die Files for reference photographs and spread descriptions to confirm identification of this variety against adjacent catalog numbers.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1963 1¢ WDDO-053
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References