1997-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-012

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1997-D 1¢ WDDR-012, this Lincoln Memorial Cent displays a doubled die reverse where a bar extends from the middle of the statue's leg to the top of the base on the right side of the statue, positioned on the seventh column of the Lincoln Memorial. This bar-like doubling feature — a secondary impression of a portion of the seated Lincoln statue displaced into an adjacent area of the colonnade — is a characteristic type of Lincoln Memorial doubled die that exploits the intricate architectural detail of Gasparro's reverse design. No cross-references to other cataloging systems are currently known. No obverse die markers are noted, but the reverse provides a rich set of markers: a die chip to the lower left of the first Memorial column, a die chip to the left of the center of the first Memorial column, a die chip below the E of UNITED, and die chips within the center of the second A, below the second A, and to the right of the second A of AMERICA — six distinct markers concentrated in the left portion of the Memorial and the AMERICA inscription. The Lincoln Memorial Cent was designed by Frank Gasparro for the reverse, struck at the Denver Mint in 1997 in copper-plated zinc composition (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.50 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse portrait. The concentration of die chips around the second A in AMERICA — three chips in immediate proximity to a single letter — suggests localized die deterioration in that area, possibly related to stress patterns in the die face near the lettering's incuse recesses.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Steve Young Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1997-D 1¢ WDDR-012
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References