1963 Lincoln Memorial Cent - Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-024

Description

Numbered twenty-fourth in the sequence of P-mint doubled die obverse varieties for 1963, the Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO-024 was produced by a working die that received a fractionally misaligned hub impression during its manufacture at the Philadelphia Mint. The explanation lies in production volume: Philadelphia's 754,110,000 business-strike output for 1963 required a large fleet of working dies, and each die went through the multi-impression hubbing process independently, with each session carrying its own probability of alignment error. Collectors who systematically search through quantities of 1963 P-mint cents, whether in original bank-wrapped rolls, bulk bags, or dealer inventories, encounter a date that is both inexpensive in common grades and rich in variety potential. The coin was struck on a 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet and bears no mint mark. The obverse features Brenner's portrait of Abraham Lincoln, while the reverse displays Gasparro's rendering of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Without published die marker specifics for WDDO-024, attribution must proceed through careful comparison of the observed doubling characteristics against known die photographs. A quality loupe and directional lighting are the essential tools for this work.

External References