2015-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-001

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die marker codes UVC-3437 and DMR-002, this 2015-D Lincoln Shield Cent DDO-001 presents a medium spread to the south manifesting as an extra earlobe on Lincoln’s portrait — a distinctive diagnostic feature where the secondary hub impression shifted downward relative to the primary, producing a clearly visible duplicated earlobe below the normal one. Three documented die stages trace this working die’s service life: Stage A is early die state (EDS, unconfirmed); Stage B shows the obverse in early-to-mid die state (EMDS) with a light die crack on the upper left shield edge and minute die chips on the shield edge above the P and U of PLURIBUS; Stage C is late die state (LDS, unconfirmed). The progression from clean early state through the EMDS cracks and chips to eventual late-state deterioration documents how the die accumulated structural damage over its production run. The Lincoln Shield Cent, introduced in 2010 with the Union shield reverse designed by Lyndall Bass, was struck at the Denver Mint in 2015 in copper-plated zinc composition (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.50 grams with a diameter of 19.05 mm. Victor David Brenner’s obverse Lincoln portrait, in continuous use since 1909, provides the fine facial detail — particularly the ear and earlobe area — where even modest hub displacement becomes readily apparent under 5x–7x magnification. The Stage B die crack along the shield edge serves as the most accessible confirmation marker, as the shield’s geometric lines provide a clean reference against which any crack deviation can be quickly identified.

Die Markers

• UVC-3437
• DMR-002
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse is EMDS
• Light die crack on upper Left shield edge – EMDS
• Minute die chips on shield edge above P and U of PLURIBUS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by David Mickelson
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References