1997-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-026

Description

Twenty-sixth DDR for the 1997 Denver Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent, WDDR-026 shows a bar extending from the middle of the knee to the lower leg on the right side of the Lincoln statue within the seventh column — the tiny seated figure that has been a favorite target for variety researchers since Frank Gasparro introduced the Memorial design in 1959. The statue details are among the finest design elements on any circulating U.S. denomination, and the extension of the bar between knee and lower leg indicates hub displacement affected this area during die manufacture. Die markers confirm attribution across both sides: the obverse carries a die chip in the field west of the back of Lincoln's neck, while the reverse shows a die chip between the upper N and E of ONE and another in the center of the upper 11th bay of the Memorial building. Denver struck approximately 4.6 billion cents in 1997, and twenty-six documented DDRs reflect the intense scrutiny that variety researchers have applied to this high-volume Denver date. No additional cross-references exist beyond the Wexler listing. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID: 1997-D 1¢ WDDR-026, the die chip diagnostics are essential for distinguishing this variety within the densely populated 1997-D DDR catalog.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Daniel Griffin Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1997-D 1¢ WDDR-026
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References