1970-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-045

Description

Forty-fifth in the Wexler doubled die obverse catalog for the 1970-S Lincoln Memorial cent, this Small Date regular strike entry continues systematic documentation of doubled dies produced from San Francisco's Small Date hub. The hubbing process that creates doubled dies is fundamentally a matter of precision engineering meeting physical reality: the hub and die must align with near-perfect concentricity across multiple impressions, and any deviation — whether from thermal expansion of the die steel, slight wear on the hubbing press guides, or human error in positioning — produces the overlapping design elements defining a doubled die. In a production environment where hundreds of working dies were prepared for a single year's coinage, the statistical probability of some dies receiving imperfect secondary impressions approaches certainty. No confirmed cross-references are known. The Small Date hub's distinctive numeral proportions mean that any doubling in the date area takes on a character unique to this hub type — the 7's lower position, the more uniform alignment of digit tops, and slightly different font weight all interact with doubled hub impressions in ways producing visual signatures distinguishable from the same degree of doubling on a Large Date die. This hub-specific character is part of what makes the 1970-S doubled die series so rich for collectors.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1970-S 1¢ WDDO-045
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References