After you've looked at a few million pennies, you will realize that, YES!, it is common....on the "4"....and the "1"....and the "7"....and the "D"....and any other digit or letter that may be found on a coin that has been subjected to bumps and bruises while in circulation. ~ Chris
Yes, a weird hit on the 4. The thickness in the date is attributable to the Large Date variety. However, there was a recent thread regarding die pairings and Wexler lists one DDO - http://doubleddie.com/823923.html
When I look at a date like that I ask myself...could a hub being pressed into the die twice create a "4" with a shorter/smaller top? I could be wrong but its physically impossible. The hub has the correct shape and size of devices and details. Imagine it being pressed in....lifted....then pressed in again....the device cannot get smaller in any way. If it were not lined up juuuuust right then it would make the image look wider, bigger, fatter, doubled....but not "cut off at the top of". The top of the 4 is shorter than it should be. I could be thinking wrong though.