As I review the various DDO and DDR information, to include the pictures, I read mentioned "extra thickness" and look at the provided pictures. What exactly does this mean and how do I know if I have a coin related to this definition and thus a DDO-001 coin? As an example the 1976 DDO-001 penny states, "extra thickness on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST." When I look at the pictures provided and compare them to a 1976 penny I have located the look is very similar. I understand finding a DDO/DDR coin is challenging and not a common occurrence by any stretch of the imagination. The concern I have is actually finding one and not knowing I have found it because it is not obvious, resulting in its being "jar-tossed". This might be a bit long but... I attempted to crop my pictures at the approximate size and orientation of those shown on VarietyVista's site but mine ended up being larger due to the cropping process... What I notice when I compare this coin to other 1976-D coins I have come across is the lettering/numbering appearing more pronounced, as well as "stretching" noted to the top of the letters in "IN GOD WE TRUST" which I notice in the VarietyVista pictures, giving them almost a "halo" effect. I am still attempting to learn and wrap my head around the notion of DDO/DDR. I understanding the die making process and that die errors are built onto the die itself. The challenge is in recognizing it. What say you?
Here are the pictures I used for the cropping. These pictures approximate the size and orientation in the VarietyVista site. How do you determine a "thickening" of the lettering/numbering?
Good question. Typically extra thickness is accompanied by notching in the letters or devices or it can look like “tootsie roll” script. The 1976-D you posted doesn’t appear to be a DD-001. The Y should have notching as shown on the VV example and the rest of Liberty has thickening. A excellent pick up point (PUP) is the mint mark placement. Yours doesn’t appear to match.
