2009 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-003

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista with die tracking code UVC-2665 and die marker reference DMR-034, this 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial Cent DDO-003 presents extra thickness on LIBERTY, the lower hair, and Lincoln's beard — facial detail doubling that leverages the fine texture of Brenner's portrait to make even modest hub displacement detectable. Four documented die stages provide detailed service life tracking: Stage A is early die state (EDS), unconfirmed; Stage B advances to early-mid die state (EMDS) with a light die crack developing on Lincoln's forehead and the reverse also in EMDS; Stage C reaches mid-die-state (MDS) with a small die chip forming on the forehead die crack and the reverse in MDS — documenting how the initial crack accumulated material within its fracture, creating a raised chip atop the crack line; Stage D is late die state (LDS), unconfirmed. The progression from die crack (Stage B) to die chip on the crack (Stage C) illustrates the typical evolution of die structural failure, where initial fractures gradually widen and accumulate debris. The 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial Cent was struck to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, featuring four rotating reverse designs representing different periods of Lincoln's life. The obverse retained Victor David Brenner's iconic portrait. Struck in copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.50 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter, the 2009 bicentennial cents were produced in lower quantities than typical years. The beard and lower hair doubling documented on DDO-003 affects some of the most finely detailed areas of Brenner's portrait, where individual hair strands and beard texture provide multiple fine reference lines against which extra thickness from hub displacement becomes visible under moderate magnification.

Die Markers

• UVC-2665
• DMR-034
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Light die crack on forehead – EMDS
• Reverse is EMDS
• Stage C:
• Small die chip on forehead die crack – MDS
• Reverse is MDS
• Stage D:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jason Cuvelier
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References