1990 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-003

Description

The third Wexler-cataloged doubled die reverse for the 1990 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, WDDR-003 continues a sequence of reverse hubbing varieties that reflects the mechanical realities of high-volume die production. Each working die used at the Philadelphia Mint in 1990 was created through multiple impressions from a master hub — a process called hubbing — and any misalignment between impressions, however slight, produced a doubled die. With over 6.8 billion cents to strike, the Philadelphia facility consumed thousands of reverse working dies during the 1990 production year, and the statistical probability of hubbing anomalies across this population ensured that multiple doubled die reverses would enter the coin supply. Differentiating WDDR-003 from its neighbors in the catalog — WDDR-002 and WDDR-004 — requires careful comparison of the doubling signature: the specific Memorial elements affected, the direction and magnitude of the spread, and the accompanying die markers unique to each working die. The Wexler attribution system photographs and documents these diagnostic features for every cataloged variety, creating a reference library that enables die-by-die identification of specimens as they surface in collections and commerce. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint on a copper-plated zinc planchet (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) at 2.5 grams and 19mm diameter.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1990 1¢ WDDR-003
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References