1998 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-006

Description

Sixth in the reverse doubled die census for the 1998 Lincoln Memorial cent, DDR-006 displays medium spread in an eastward direction manifesting as an extra column number 6, running from the knee of the Lincoln statue to the pedestal within Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse design. The Lincoln Memorial reverse (1959-2008) features a miniature seated Lincoln visible between the central columns, and doubling that creates a ghost column represents one of the more visually striking diagnostic patterns available on this design type. VarietyVista assigned die identifiers UVC-3102 and DMR-008, documenting three die stages for this variety. Stage A exhibits a light die clash in bay number 4 with both obverse and reverse surfaces at early die state (EDS), indicating the die experienced a clashmark event early in its production life when the dies struck together without a planchet between them. Stage B progresses to mid die state (unconfirmed), while Stage C reaches late die state (unconfirmed). The additional notation of Reverse Design Variant RDV-007 identifies the specific master die lineage used for this working die, providing an extra attribution checkpoint. Philadelphia struck approximately 5.03 billion cents in 1998, a staggering output that consumed vast numbers of die pairs across extended production runs. Collectors examining this variety should focus on the column area between the knee of the seated Lincoln figure and the pedestal base, where the eastward-displaced secondary impression creates the appearance of an additional architectural column at moderate magnification of 10-15x.

Die Markers

• UVC-3102
• DMR-008
• Stage A:
• Light die clash in bay # 4 – EDS
• Obverse is EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References