1997-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-023

Description

Documented by the Wexler Team as 1997-D 1c WDDR-023 with no other known cross-references, this Lincoln Memorial Cent variety exhibits a distinctive design element anomaly: a bar extends from the lower arm to the middle of the leg on the right side of the statue on the seventh column of the Lincoln Memorial reverse. The statue referenced is the seated Abraham Lincoln figure within the Memorial building — a tiny but detailed element of Frank Gasparro's reverse design where the Lincoln figure is visible between the central columns of the Memorial facade. Doubled die varieties on Memorial Cents that affect the Lincoln statue's limbs create some of the most visually specific diagnostics in the series, as the statue's small scale means that any doubling or extra design element appears as a clearly defined extra bar or limb segment. Obverse die markers include a die chip above the right side of the B of LIBERTY. The reverse carries two markers: a die chip at the rim above the left side of the E of UNITED and a die scratch extending from the bottom left side of the S of PLURIBUS to the Memorial roof. The 1997-D cent was struck at the Denver Mint in copper-plated zinc composition (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper plating), weighing 2.5 grams at 19 mm diameter. The twenty-third DDR for the 1997-D date speaks to the extensive variety documentation effort applied to the Memorial Cent series, where the architectural detail of the Memorial building — including columns, statue, and inscriptions within the structure — provides numerous localized zones where hub doubling can manifest as identifiable variety features.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Steve Young Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1997-D 1¢ WDDR-023
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References