1963 Proof Lincoln Memorial Cent - Proof Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-072

Description

The 1963 Proof Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-072 belongs to a proof DDO census for the 1963 Lincoln Memorial Cent that has grown steadily as digital imaging and online attribution communities have enabled collectors to document varieties that might have gone unrecognized in earlier decades. Before the advent of high-resolution macro photography and internet-based peer review, only the most dramatic doubled die varieties attracted widespread attention; subtler examples like those in the upper reaches of the WDDO catalog often escaped detection despite being present on coins that had been examined multiple times. The proof production process at the Philadelphia Mint in 1963 created the physical conditions for these varieties: dies manufactured through multi-impression hubbing sometimes acquired fractional design displacements, and the subsequent chrome plating and polishing could not erase what was structurally embedded in the steel. The proof striking pressure — higher than business-strike levels to achieve complete design transfer into the polished planchet — could enhance the visibility of secondary hub images, making proof coins particularly revealing under magnification. WDDO-072 should be confirmed through die marker analysis and comparison with published reference images, since adjacent catalog entries may share broadly similar doubling characteristics that require careful differentiation. The coin was struck on a 95% copper and 5% zinc planchet weighing 3.11 grams at 19.05 mm, bearing the standard Brenner portrait and Gasparro Memorial reverse.

Cross References

• Wexler Variety ID: 1963 1¢ Pr WDDO-072

External References