1998 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-039

Description

Revealing doubling on a specific structural element of the Lincoln Memorial building, this Wexler-attributed WDDR-039 for the 1998 Lincoln Memorial Cent shows the doubled impression on the right side of the sixth column to the left of the shin and between the statue's legs. This level of architectural specificity in the doubling description reflects the remarkable detail of Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse design, where individual columns, bays, and the tiny seated Lincoln statue within the memorial are all rendered with enough precision to display hub doubling. The Wexler Team documented specific die markers for attribution: on the obverse, a die gouge below the second T in TRUST, and on the reverse, a die clash mark at the bottom of the ninth Memorial bay. These secondary markers enable positive identification of the die pair even when the primary doubling is faint or obscured by wear. No cross-references to other attribution systems are currently known. The 1998 Lincoln Memorial Cent was produced during the peak years of cent manufacturing volume, when Philadelphia struck billions of cents annually. Thirty-nine doubled die reverses documented for the date demonstrates the intensity of die variety research on late Memorial Cent issues. The presence of a die clash mark on the reverse as a die marker is an interesting detail, indicating that this particular reverse die experienced both a hubbing anomaly (the doubled die) and a separate production anomaly (the die clash) during its working life — two independent events documented on a single die that together provide a rich attribution profile.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Tom Curtiss Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1998 1¢ WDDR-039
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References