1985 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-004

Description

Submitted by Daniel Griffin from a 1985 Uncirculated Mint Set, WDDO-004 on the 1985 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent exhibits extra thickness on the date and slightly on LIBERTY. The mint set provenance establishes that this variety entered production sets distributed to collectors, meaning additional specimens likely reside in other preserved 1985 sets. Obverse die markers are extremely minor: a minuscule gouge near the rim northeast of the 5, a short scratch south from the lower I in IN, and a light scratch below the S and T in TRUST. The reverse carries more substantial markers: die damage southwest of the U in UNITED, a gouge on the lower diagonal crossbar of the N in UNITED, horizontal scratches through TES in STATES, and small die dots in upper Memorial bays 8 and 10. Griffin noted all markers are extremely minor and the coin is otherwise essentially marker free — a characteristic that makes authentication challenging but indicates the die was in early service. Struck at Philadelphia on copper-plated zinc planchets at 2.5 grams from the 1985 mintage of approximately 5.65 billion cents (Wexler ID: 1985 1¢ WDDO-004). Die Markers: Obverse: A miniscule die gouge shows close to the rim well northeast of the 5 in the date. A short die scratch runs south from the lower I in IN. A light die scratch shows in the field below the letters S and T in TRUST (this could be damage). A die gouge shows on the lower edge of the diagonal crossbar of the letter N in UNITED. A series of light horizontal die scratches run through the letters TES in STATES. Small die gouges (dots) show in upper Memorial bays 8 and 10. Reverse: A small die gouge can be found south of the right end of the Memorial steps.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Tanner Scott Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1985 1¢ WDDO-004
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References