1964-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-017

Description

Among the higher-numbered entries in the Wexler doubled die obverse catalog for the 1964-D Lincoln Memorial Cent, WDDO-017 documents a variety produced during the Denver Mint's record-breaking production year. The Denver facility struck 3,799,071,500 Lincoln cents in 1964, the highest single-mint output for the denomination to that point, driven by a nationwide coin shortage that had Congress demanding maximum output from every federal minting operation. This extraordinary volume required an equally extraordinary number of working dies, each manufactured through the multi-impression hubbing process in which the obverse working hub was pressed repeatedly into a softened die blank under hydraulic force. Any fractional displacement of the hub between impressions embedded a permanent secondary design image in the die steel, creating the doubled die variety that collectors now pursue. WDDO-017 preserves one such hubbing anomaly from the Denver Mint's 1964 die production, transmitting the doubled obverse to every cent struck during the die's operational lifespan. The 1964-D cent holds particular numismatic significance as the last Denver Mint Lincoln cent to carry a mint mark before the 1965-67 mint mark removal enacted to discourage coin hoarding. Struck on a 95% copper and 5% tin-zinc planchet weighing 3.11 grams at 19mm diameter, the coin features Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait on the obverse and Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References