2021 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-004

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 2021 1-cent WDDO-004, this fourth doubled die obverse for the 2021 Lincoln Shield Cent exhibits moderate extra thickness on the date numerals and on LIBERTY, with distinctive notching visible on the upper left corners of ERTY in LIBERTY. The notching pattern — where the doubled impression creates small, staircase-like steps at the corners of letter strokes — is a hallmark of hub doubling that distinguishes it from the flat, shelf-like displacement characteristic of mechanical doubling. Die markers for attribution include a small die chip on the lower Y in LIBERTY on the obverse, and on the reverse, a die crack with small die chips running through the top left of the Union Shield design north of PLU in PLURIBUS. The 2021 Lincoln Shield Cent was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in copper-plated zinc composition (97.5% zinc core with 2.5% copper plating), weighing 2.5 grams and measuring 19.05 mm in diameter. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait, originally designed in 1909, continues to serve as the obverse motif, while the Union Shield reverse designed by Lyndall Bass has been in production since 2010. The presence of four documented DDO varieties for a single year of Lincoln cent production confirms the ongoing frequency of hub misalignment events in modern U.S. Mint die manufacturing, providing contemporary variety collectors with attributable material.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jim Wilkins Cross References: None known
• s:; Wexler Variety ID: 2021 1¢ WDDO-004
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References