1963 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-023

Description

Continuing the steady expansion of the 1963 P-mint doubled die obverse catalog, WDDO-023 of the Lincoln Memorial Cent represents yet another working die that received a misaligned hub impression during manufacture at the Philadelphia Mint. The process of creating working dies during the early 1960s involved a hierarchical chain: a master hub created a master die, which in turn created working hubs, which then impressed the design into individual working dies through repeated applications of hydraulic pressure. At each transfer stage, small variations could accumulate, and the final hubbing of working dies was the step most prone to producing the misalignments that result in doubled die varieties. With 754,110,000 business-strike cents produced at Philadelphia in 1963, the working die inventory for the year was substantial, and the probability that at least some dies would carry detectable doubling was high. The coin entered general circulation without a mint mark, as was standard for Philadelphia, and was struck on the 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet composition adopted in 1962. In the absence of enumerated die markers for WDDO-023, collectors must rely on the specific character of the doubling pattern to distinguish this variety from its neighbors in the catalog. Examination under at least 10x magnification with strong, angled lighting remains the most effective approach for detecting the secondary images that characterize hub doubling. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse portrait and Frank Gasparro the Lincoln Memorial reverse, a pairing that defined the denomination from 1959 through 2008.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References