1970-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-046

Description

Exhibiting close Class I clockwise spread on IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, and the date, WDDO-046 on the 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Memorial cent demonstrates the rotational hubbing misalignment defining Class I doubled dies. In a Class I doubled die, the hub rotates between impressions around a pivot point, producing spread that increases with distance from that pivot — letters and numerals farther from the center of rotation show proportionally more displacement. The clockwise direction means affected design elements on the left side of the obverse shift slightly downward while those on the right shift upward, creating an asymmetric pattern across the inscriptions. Die markers supplement the doubling evidence with three specific die gouges: one positioned southeast of the mint mark, a second below the E of LIBERTY, and a third inside the upper portion of the E in ONE on the reverse. This trio provides a spatially distributed set of confirmation points — the SE mint mark gouge places a marker near the date area where doubling is present, the LIBERTY gouge sits directly in the doubled inscription zone, and the ONE CENT gouge confirms the die pairing. Together, these markers allow attribution even on moderately worn Small Date specimens where the close doubling might be difficult to distinguish from normal die wear.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Bill Wilson Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1970-S 1¢ WDDO-046
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References