1964 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-005

Description

Returning to the business strike series after three proof entries, the 1964 WDDO-005 is a regular strike doubled die obverse from the Philadelphia Mint's 1964 production of 2,648,575,000 Lincoln cents. A doubled die obverse results from the multi-impression hubbing process used in die manufacture: the obverse working hub, carrying Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait design, is pressed into a softened die blank under hydraulic force in successive impressions, and any fractional shift in the hub's position between these impressions permanently embeds a secondary design image alongside the primary. The enormous scale of Philadelphia's 1964 cent production consumed a vast number of obverse working dies, each individually manufactured through this hubbing process, and the statistical probability of hub misalignment during at least some of these manufacturing operations ensured a steady supply of doubled die varieties for the date. WDDO-005 is the fifth doubled die obverse cataloged for the 1964 Philadelphia cent, joining a growing catalog that reflects the sheer volume of dies manufactured for this record-output year. No independent cross-references from CONECA, Coppercoins, or other attribution services are currently listed, and no specific die markers have been recorded, meaning collectors must rely on the doubling pattern itself for positive identification against reference photographs. The 1964 cent was the last Philadelphia Mint issue before the 1965-67 mint mark removal. Struck on a 95% copper and 5% tin-zinc planchet weighing 3.11 grams at 19mm diameter.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wexler Team

External References