i can't make up my mind we all look for errors hopeing to find one and the more i look at this i just don't know ok guys whats the verdict?
Machine doubling. Check the mint mark on coppercoins.com to see if there's a match. Might just be die deterioration but it doesn't hurt to look it up.
Strike doubling. If the die had been doubled (which it was not) the mintmark (which was added by hand later) would not have the same doubling.
For this particular year of Lincoln Cent, if the Mintmark (which was applied manually) shows doubling, then it's more than likely machine doubling. Hub doubling occurs when the die is made. How this occurs is that no die can get a full impression from a working hub with a single pressing. Therefore, after the initial pressing, the die is removed, re-annealed to soften it, then inserted into the hubbing press a secons time. For coins such as the 1968 Lincoln which has a relatively high relief, a third hubbing may be required. At any rate, on second and subsequent hubbings, if the die is not inserted into the hubbing press in the exact same orientation as the initial hubbing, then a doubled image will be put on the die. (Hence the term doubled die). Once the die if fully hubbed, it then gets the mintmark applied. The die making process can best be summed up as: 1.............2.................3.................4..................5 Galvano > Master Hub > Master Die > Working Hub > Working Die Hubs are in relief just like the coins they produce. Dies are in reverse. If a misalignment occurs ANYWHERE in the above process, you'll end up with a doubled die. If a Working Hub is doubled, then it'll produce doubled dies in steps 3 to 4 to 5. If doubling occurs between steps 4 and 5, then there's a strong possibility of a tripled die, or even a quadrubled die. Master Dies are used to create 100's of Working Hubs. Working Hubs are used to create 100's of Working Dies. Therefore, doubling on a Working Hud can effectively appear on hundreds of Working Dies. The step where the doubling occurs "usually" dictates the quantity of coins available "unless" the error is detected. After that, the value of a coin falls under how many were made vs how many folks actually want them. Doubled Dies can be rotated Hub Doubling (Around a point central to the coins image) or Pivoted Hub Doubling (around a point that is NOT central to the coin) or even distorted Hub Doubling. Distorted Hub Doubling occurs when the Working die actually distorts during the annealing process creating an uneven surface or warpage on the die face. Ugh! Got carried away. If the doubling is flat or shelf like and it also occurs on the mintmark, then its a maching double coin. Machine doubling can be isolated to a specific area on the coin or in some extreme cases, on the entire coin.
Thank you for this information. I was looking for an answer to a question I had and you my have answered it. If I read this correctly the machine doubling can occur on a single location of a coin and not appear any where else. I was wondering if the same can be said about true doubling. Can you have true doubling on a single area of a coin like say, on a single letter or a single number on a date? From everything that I have read so far doubling is usually found on more than one area of a coin. If I have read correctly most true doubling will have a rounded feature whereas, machine doubling will look almost like a straight cut, maybe even a mirror cut to the original stamping. Am I making this harder than it really should be? I have read a lot of posts and some posts make a lot of sense when you first read them but as you read further you find that what you had read was completely off mark... LOL.
There is no single answer, there are 8 classes of doubled die action, each with some differences in the areas of the coin being affected. These are in many references . http://www.error-ref.com/doubled-dies/ So sometimes a large area is affected ( type 1) and can be seen with the normal eye, and other times needs a large amount of enlargement and difficult to authenticate ( especially on a circulated or damaged coin. With enough separation, the rounding is easier to see and is usually the main structures of the coins, but for some of the types in small amounts, it is arguable whether it is or not. Generally true doubling enlarges the thickness of the device ( both apparent parts added together, whereas mechanical tends to stay the approximate same thickness when added together. Studying how they can be made ( I recommend the book by Wexler and Flynn~ Authoritative Reference on Lincoln Cents , 2nd) and seeing illustrative examples can help tremendously. Too many people jump in and ask " is this one, is this one, .....etc. and they never find one as they can't tell the difference. Others use die markers , but a working hub can produce 100s of working dies and many can have the same markers. cracks, scratches, etc; but only 1 was doubled and made doubled die coins. This is usually a killer of desire to find one. This refers to double squeeze dies/coins up to about 1995-8. The new later single squeeze DD coins can't really be "doubled" die as they only meet once, so the authors call these Class IX "God Only Knows" DD. I am prejudiced that only the double squeeze should be called doubled dies, and others opinions certainly differ, but that is Ok in collecting. Best of luck ,Jim
Thank you very much you have given me excellent information and I will into trying to obtain that reading material. Thanks once again.
