Practically any Lincoln cent collector can tell you all about the famous Doubled Die varieties. After all, unless that collector is a, "somewhat advanced" collector, those coins are probably just on his "Wish List". Of course I'm referring to the "Big Three" of doubled-dies, the 1955/55, the 1972/72 Ty I Doubled Die Obverse, and the 1983 Doubled Die Reverse Lincoln cents. There is a very good reason why these coins are just on the "Wish List" of most average collectors. These pricy varieties are  not only  V E R Y   R A R E ,  but  V E R Y   E X P E N S I V E  too! !  Most error coins are caught long before ever leaving the mint by routine random inspection of individual lots. Each set of presses, (usually 3-5 machines) delivers its finished product (coins) into a large steel basket or "hopper" that can hold many thousands of pieces. If a routine inspection discovers that a particular die is producing inferior coins, those coins would still be in the hopper, and not yet comingled with the total mint production. Usually, with the discovery of a dramatic error such as a doubled die, or a broken die resulting in a large cud, or other serious flaw, the entire contents of that hopper could be scrapped, and those inferior coins not allowed to enter circulation. The defective die would have been removed from service and cancelled. This system has been in effect for years, but just like any other manufacturing plant, the Mint makes mistakes too. When the 1955/55 DDO was produced, neither the die nor the first strikes were inspected for flaws, and all coins were allowed to comingle. When discovered, the defective die had been in service for less than three hours (cents are struck 100-120/minute), and could not have produced any more than 16,000-20,000 coins. Those coins were still at the Mint, but had been comingled with millions of other coins. The decision was to release them because it would have been too costly to scrap and restrike so many pieces. Both the 1972/72 Ty I DDO, and the 1983 DDR coins could also have been prevented by the inspectors if they had done their jobs, but because of poor supervision, policy again was ignored. An estimated 32,000-40,000 1972/72 Ty I coins, and somewhere around 30,000-35,000 1983 DDR pieces were struck. In both events, policy and procedure concerning inspection and containment was ignored. The error coins were allowed to comingle with an entire shift's production of somewhere around five million coins. They too were subsequently allowed to enter circulation. When you consider that there are about TEN MILLION serious Lincoln cent collectors, it's pretty easy to see how competition for so few pieces has driven prices so high.

There are other, "less obvious", doubled die issues that are rare and very valuable. The 1984 "Double-Ear", which ia a "Design Type" doubled die, is considerably rare, but largely ignored and underpriced. Estimated production is less than 35,000 coins;  The 1995/95 DDO, estimated at 500,000 +  is much easier to obtain and relatively inexpensive. This is a coin that SMART COLLECTORS should buy in HIGH GRADE !  . . . (as many as you can!).  The 1917/17 DDO is also pretty scarce. It is a really rare and undervalued coin in grades FINE and above. Specimens in Good/Very Good, even though very scarce/rare, are not in demand and command lower prices. This variety is not very obvious. It probably wasn't discovered by inspectors at all and could very well have run a full cycle of production (as many as 250,000 coins). However, after 90-years of wear and tear, probably fewer than 20,000 pieces are still around, in all grades!  In 1917, with WWI raging all over Western Europe, and again, with poor quality control at our nation's mints, other major errors (1916/16 & 1918/17-D Buffalos, and 1918/17-S 25c) were also produced. 

There certainly are other minor doubled die issues in the Lincoln cent series that are in some cases very rare and difficult to obtain, but these are generally obscure and require a level of knowledge and skill above that of the average hobbyist. There are however, some exceptions that advanced collectors should take seriously. These are the 1936/36 Ty I&II, and the 1941/41 Ty I&II Doubled Die Obverse Lincolns. Although not as prominent as the issues of 1955 or 1972, they are significant and highly collectible coins. After more than fifty years of circulation, mint state specimens are virtually nonexistant, but circulated examples are available in all grades ranging from Good - Extra Fine, and display nice doubling that is easily seen. Another obscure but significant doubled die variety that has recently been recognized for its rarity, is the 1960/1960-D Small Date/Large Date variety. This is a dual hub type of doubled die, and was created when a mint worker accidentally reannealed a large date variety die with a small date variety hub. This produced a die where the small date details are clearly superimposed over the large date details as well as other portions of the obverse legends. So far, after almost fifty years, only a few hundred pieces have been identified. This coin should prove to be as equally important a variety as the major doubled die coins. Today, these coins represent a genuine opportunity for the serious collector, but for some foolish reason, many collectors just seem to ignore coins for which the album makers haven't yet gotten around to cutting a hole. These are very important coins, and no "serious" set of Lincoln Cents is complete without examples of these rare varieties.

There were three other very significant major doubled die issues. The 1958/58 DDO (two pieces known); 1969/69-S DDO (Less than 35 known); and the 1970/70-S DDO(less than 25 known).  These are examples of where the system worked!  The error was caught just like all of the others SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT!  Although the error was contained, someone had to have access to the inspection and subsequent destruction of the pieces that had been coined. Therefore, the only logical explanation for the existance of the few known examples of each of these rarities, has to have been theft by Mint employees. As collectors, I guess that we should be thankful for those few lazy and dishonest people who allowed these rare and interesting coins to have been produced and made available to collectors. Just think how dull the Lincoln Cent Series would be if the last rare cent that was produced was the 1931-S!

If you feel that this guide was informative or in any way helpful, I would greatly appreciate your taking a few moments to check the  ( YES )  box at the bottom of this page. All information sources are available upon request. (mintex03)