2006 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-041

Description

The 2006 Lincoln Memorial Cent WDDO-041 displays extra thickness on LIBERTY with distinctive notching on the lower right portions of E, R, T, and Y — a notching pattern characteristic of Class II or Class VI hub doubling where secondary impressions create step-like irregularities along letter edges. Cataloged by the Wexler Team, the obverse die is identified by a small die gouge to the right of the top of the I in IN, while the reverse carries a small die gouge just above the seated Lincoln statue's left arm within Frank Gasparro's Memorial design. These paired obverse and reverse die markers together create a reliable two-point diagnostic system for confirming attribution. The 2006 date is among the final years of the Lincoln Memorial Cent reverse, which would be replaced by four bicentennial designs in 2009 and the Union Shield in 2010, making doubled die varieties from this period the last expressions of hub doubling on Gasparro's 47-year design. No other cross-references are currently known beyond the Wexler designation, and the high catalog number — forty-first in the WDDO sequence for 2006 — indicates the extensive variety population produced during this late Memorial Cent production year at the Philadelphia Mint.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 2006 1¢ WDDO-041
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References