1964-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-015

Description

Among the numerous doubled die obverse varieties now documented for the 1964-D Lincoln Memorial Cent, WDDO-015 occupies a position that underscores the depth of modern variety attribution for high-mintage dates. When the Denver Mint struck 3,799,071,500 Lincoln cents in 1964 — a response to the coin shortage that had grown from a localized inconvenience into a nationwide crisis — it consumed working dies at a pace that required continuous die manufacturing throughout the year. The obverse design was transferred to each new die through the multi-impression hubbing process, and the rapidity of die production during this peak year created thousands of individual hubbing sessions, each an independent opportunity for the fractional hub displacement that produces a doubled die. WDDO-015 was born from one such session, carrying a secondary obverse image that was transferred to every cent the die struck during its operational lifespan. The coin entered circulation along with billions of other 1964-D cents and remained unrecognized as a variety until identified by attributors working from the Wexler Doubled Die Files. The 1964-D date represents a convergence of numismatic significance: the highest single-mint Lincoln cent production to that point, the final year of D-mint Lincoln cents before the three-year mint mark removal beginning in 1965, and one of the last dates in the original 95% copper composition before subsequent changes to the alloy. Collectors searching for this variety should examine the obverse under magnification with directional lighting, comparing observed doubling against published reference images. Struck on a 95% copper and 5% tin-zinc planchet at 19mm and 3.11 grams.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References