1964-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-019

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team and cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID: 1964-D 1¢ WDDO-019, this doubled die obverse variety was produced at the Denver Mint during its record 1964 cent production run of 3,799,071,500 pieces. The Wexler Team's attribution confirms that this variety exhibits genuine hub doubling — a secondary design image created when the obverse working hub was fractionally displaced between impressions during the die manufacturing process — as opposed to the far more common strike doubling (also called machine doubling or mechanical doubling) that occurs during the coin striking process and carries minimal numismatic premium. The distinction matters because true hub doubling is die-specific: every coin struck from the affected die carries identical doubling in identical positions, while strike doubling varies from coin to coin and lacks the crisp, shelf-like separation that characterizes genuine doubled dies. The Denver Mint's 1964 production consumed thousands of individual obverse dies over the course of the year, each passing through its own independent hubbing session, and WDDO-019 documents the anomaly from one such session. The massive output was a direct response to the coin shortage that had prompted Congress to consider extraordinary measures including the removal of mint marks, which would take effect the following year. The 1964-D cent thus stands as the last mint-marked Denver Lincoln cent until 1968, adding a layer of historical context to every variety from this date. Struck on a 95% copper and 5% tin-zinc planchet weighing 3.11 grams at 19mm diameter.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1964-D 1¢ WDDO-019
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References