1970-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-040

Description

Occupying the fortieth position in the Wexler doubled die obverse sequence for the 1970-S Lincoln Memorial cent, WDDO-040 documents a Large Date regular strike die carrying doubled hubbing evidence. The sheer depth of this catalog — forty numbered entries and counting — reflects the extraordinary concentration of doubled die varieties produced at the San Francisco Mint during 1970 cent production. Each WDDO number represents a physically distinct working die on which the hubbing process went slightly awry, embedding permanent overlapping design impressions into the die steel. San Francisco's production environment in 1970 was particularly conducive to generating doubled dies: the facility operated dual hub types (Large Date and Small Date), produced both proof and business-strike coinage, and consumed working dies at a rate requiring frequent die preparation — each preparation event representing another opportunity for hub misalignment. No confirmed cross-references are known. For collectors, the higher-numbered WDDO entries present both challenge and opportunity: the doubling tends to be subtler than on dramatic early catalog entries, requiring more practiced examination, but the varieties are less widely known and less frequently cherry-picked, meaning examples may survive undiscovered in dealer inventories.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1970-S 1¢ WDDO-040
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References