1955 Double Die Obverse Lincoln Wheat Cent PCGS & CAC Certified MS62BN

The king of error coins, the 1955 Double Die Obverse Lincoln Wheat Cent is one of the most famous and sought-after coin errors in history.

Coins are struck from dies, which themselves are created from hubs. Coin dies that are not appropriately made can result in double die coins. It takes several impressions from the coin hub to make a coin die. If the coin hub is not perfectly aligned above the coin die, a second impression will result on the coin die that is slightly off-center from the first. If this coin die is used to strike coins, all coins made from the die will have the doubling effect.

Such was the case in the coining room at the Philadelphia mint in 1955. A Lincoln cent die had been created with a misaligned final impression, which went unnoticed by the die setters. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 coins were struck with this error and mixed into ten million other coins before the error was discovered. It was deemed unfeasible to retrieve the coins, so they were released into circulation. Examples began to turn up immediately, many of which were found as change in cigarette packs, particularly in the northeastern United States. The already enormous popularity of collecting Lincoln cents in general served only to increase demand for this rare error.

The Lincoln cent is an enduring American classic produced for the past 112 years, making it the longest running United States coin design in existence, albeit with modification. In 1905, famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens was hired by the Mint at the request of President Roosevelt to beautify the nation’s coinage. Although Saint-Gaudens successfully redesigned the $10 and $20 gold pieces, he died in 1907 before he could submit designs for the new cent. Consequently, the Mint commissioned Victor D. Brenner in January of 1909 to design a one cent coin honoring Abraham Lincoln on the centennial of his birth. This marked the first widely circulating U.S. coin to feature the likeness of a President, as this concept had previously been considered too monarchical, particularly by George Washington. The obverse featured a bust of Lincoln, while the reverse depicted two stalks of wheat, representing staples of the U.S. economy, flanking the denomination.

Brenner’s revolutionary design was approved, and the new coins were released to the public on August 2nd, 1909 with much fanfare. The Lincoln cent continued to feature the wheat stalk reverse until the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s birth in 1959, at which point a new reverse depicting the Lincoln Memorial was introduced. The 1955 double die is undoubtedly a highlight of the series. With its dramatic doubling, most evident in the DATE, LIBERTY, and IN GOD WE TRUST, popularity for this coin remains high.

The mint-state example offered here with its pleasant medium brown surfaces and peripheral iridescent blue and purple toning is sure to impress collectors and investors alike. You will receive the unique coin shown in the photos housed in a plush-lined box with a certificate of authenticity.