1972 1¢ WDDO-003 "Best Of" Variety

Description: A nice Class I CW spread shows on the letters of LIBERTY, IGWT, the front of the bust, and the date.

Die Markers: Obverse Stage A: Two parallel die scratches, one very short, extend NE from the top of the 1 in the date. A short die scratch extends NNE from the top of the E in LIBERTY. A die gouge protrudes from the bottom of the bust just below the B in the designer’s initials. A short die gouge protrudes from the rim just below the front point of the bust. Obverse Stage B: Two parallel die scratches run east to west between the lower E of WE and the 1st T of TRUST. Three parallel die scratches run NW to SE through the G of GOD. A long die scratch runs east to west below the letters of LIBERTY. Several die scratches run east to west in the field behind Lincoln’s head and in the field to the right of his forehead. A die clash mark can be found north of the 9 in the date. Obverse Stage C: Two parallel die scratches running NW to SE through the G of GOD remain. The two parallel die scratches running east to west between the lower E of WE and the 1st T of TRUST are very weak. The die scratches from the upper 1 in the date are gone. A strong die scratch runs north to south just to the right of Lincoln’s head and left of his ear. Numerous die scratches run NNW to SSE to the left of the date and to the right of Lincoln’s profile. Obverse Stage D: The markers are essentially the same as Stage C. Obverse Stage E: The markers are essentially the same as those on Stages C and D but most of them are now very weak. Obverse Stage F: The markers are even weaker than the previous stages with some of them no longer visible at all. Obverse Stage G: The obverse die has been heavily abraded as the result of another die clash. All previous stage markers are now gone. A die clash mark can be seen connecting the upper 9 and 7 in the date. A strong die scratch runs ENE from the lower 9 to the 7. Numerous die scratches run NE from the top of the head. Numerous die scratches run SW from the back of Lincoln’s head. Many die scratches run SW to NE to the left of the date and above the date. Reverse Stage A: A small die gouge can be found to the right of the top of the G in the designer’s initials. A small die gouge appears below the right end of the Memorial. A small die gouge is centered between the bottoms of the E of ONE and the C of CENT. A light die crack runs down the 12th Memorial column. Reverse Stage B: Several die scratches twist WNW from the upper E of ONE. Several die scratches extend SSE from the ceiling of the Memorial above the statue of Lincoln. A long die scratch can be found running nearly parallel to the right side of the last Memorial column. Several die scratches run SW from the bottom of the E in UNITED. Several die scratches run east to west above the right end of the roof of the Memorial. Die cracks now run down columns 1, 2, 10, 11, and 12. Reverse Stage C: The die scratches seen on Stage B are weak. Several die scratches run NW to SE from the E to the N of CENT. Numerous die scratches run WNW to ESE above the right roof of the Memorial. A strong die scratch runs NW to SE above the left roof. The reverse die is rotated about 12 degrees clockwise. Reverse Stage D: A strong die scratch runs from the top of the 1st Memorial column NW through the lower right N of UNITED to the rim. A strong die scratch extends NW from the left corner of the roof. Reverse Stage E: The obverse is now paired with a new reverse die. Several short, heavy die scratches extend NE from the bottom of the 3rd Memorial bay. Reverse Stage F: A strong die scratch now runs from the top left corner of the roof of the Memorial NW to the bottom right E of UNITED. Reverse Stage G: All previous stage markers for this reverse are gone except for remnants of the die scratches at the bottom of the 3rd Memorial bay. A die clash mark can be seen above the right roof of the Memorial. Several die scratches run NW to SE at the top of the 1st and 2nd Memorial bays. Two parallel die scratches run ESE from the right side of the E of ONE. Numerous other die scratches running mostly WNW to ESE can be seen above and below the Memorial.

Submitted By: John A. Wexler

Cross References: CONECA: 3-O-I, Cherrypickers: FS-01-1972-103 (033.53), Crawford: CDDO-003, Coppercoins: 1972P-1DO-003

Comments: When the 1972 Lincoln cent doubled dies were first being reported and listed, the various stages of this variety were thought to be as many as three different working dies. As more specimens were found, the die markers eventually showed that a single working die with seven different stages was involved rather than three different varieties. The progression of stages makes for an interesting study in the life of a die. Stage D is known to exist on broadstruck coins. Photos of one examined by this author can be found on page 176 of my 1984 book The Lincoln Cent Doubled Die. The CONECA website also reports that a broadstruck specimen is known to exist for Stage F. It is not easy to put together a set of all seven stages of this variety. If you are looking for a challenge, you may want to give it a try.