1972 Lincoln Memorial Cent - Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-019

Description

WDDO-019 is notable because it does NOT show the master die doubling known for the 1972 date on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. The working die doubling itself presents as a clockwise spread showing an extra horizontal bar of the "2" in the date just above the normal horizontal bar — similar in appearance to many other minor 1972 WDDOs, but produced by a fundamentally different lineage within the die manufacturing tree. No cross-references have been documented (Wexler Variety ID: 1972 1¢ WDDO-019). The sole documented obverse die marker is a small die gouge found to the right of the top of the S in TRUST. For the reverse, the attribution notes indicate that a better-grade coin is needed to determine if there are any significant reverse die markers — an honest acknowledgment that the available specimens at the time of documentation were too worn to reveal reverse diagnostics. This variety is of particular interest to numismatic researchers studying the timeline of die production at the Philadelphia Mint in 1972, as it provides direct physical evidence of doubled working dies created before the master die failure that reshaped the entire year's production.

Cross References

• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1972 1¢ WDDO-019

External References