1996-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-003

Description

Among the late-date Lincoln Memorial Cents, the 1996-D WDDR-003 represents a Class VIII tilted hub doubled die reverse — a variety produced when the working hub was slightly tilted during one of its impressions into the working die, causing the design elements to shift at a pivot point rather than spreading uniformly. CONECA catalogs this as 1-R-VIII, making it the primary Class VIII reverse listing for the date. Class VIII doubling differs from the more commonly encountered spread and rotated varieties because the displacement is greatest at the point farthest from the tilt axis and diminishes toward the pivot, producing a fan-like distortion. On Memorial Cents, this type of doubling typically manifests on the columns, steps, or inscriptions of the Lincoln Memorial building, where even small angular shifts become visible under magnification. The Denver Mint struck over 6.5 billion cents in the mid-1990s, and the volume of die pairs consumed during such runs created ample opportunity for hubbing anomalies. Attributed by the Wexler Team as 1996-D 1c WDDR-003.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: CONECA: 1-R-VIII
• CONECA: 1-R-VIII; Wexler Variety ID: 1996-D 1¢ WDDR-003
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References