1998 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-025

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1998 1-cent WDDR-025, this Lincoln Memorial Cent exhibits doubling on the central left side of the 7th column to the right of the center of the statue — a precise architectural reference point within Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse design, where the twelve columns and the seated Lincoln statue provide a grid of diagnostic locations for hub doubling attribution. Obverse die markers include a die crack running NNW from the eyebrow into the forehead, then turning north at approximately the middle of the forehead — a kinked fracture path documenting a change in the stress propagation direction within the die steel as the crack encountered varying grain structures or stress fields. Reverse die markers are notably numerous: a die gouge below the right Memorial base; a die gouge to the right of the bottom of the I in UNITED; a die gouge between the lower N and E in ONE; and a die gouge below the left Memorial base. The four reverse die gouges positioned at various points around the lower inscription and base area indicate either multiple impacts from foreign debris or systematic die damage from a specific production event. No external cross-references beyond the Wexler listing are currently known. The Lincoln Memorial Cent was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1998 in copper-plated zinc composition (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.5 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse. The 25th cataloged doubled die reverse for the 1998 Philadelphia date demonstrates the prolific variety output of this high-production-volume denomination, where billions of coins produced annually generate numerous working dies, each with statistical potential for hub misalignment during the multi-impression hubbing process.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jon A. Rice Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1998 1¢ WDDR-025
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References