DDO Classes

[Pat]

Is there any point to even collecting DDO higher classes on well worn and AU wheats? I mean after awhile there are a lot of devices that look fat and wide and how do you really know if it's not just wear, vs DDO.

[DoubleYou]

The higher the number on the class listing system means nothing in regards to strength. Supposing you're considering class 6 distended hub doubling, while sometimes it can be difficult on lower grades going down into VG, etc., they can be distinguished even in the low grade of F-12. Whether they carry much of a premium, however, is solely in the eye of the beholder.

[lineop3]

I am a cherrypicker therefore I like to find dds/varieties on worn and new. I'm not looking to get rich, just have fun and enjoy the hunt.
The reward in this hobby is learning the difference.

Aisha

[coinman2009]

Kind of new to the cherrypicking, but i Love The 1909 vdb ddo 2, lucky enough to pick 13 of them in the last 2 years! But most of them were picked due to high grades,and nice pic's! The Fun Is In The Find!

[jcuve]

Is there any point to even collecting DDO higher classes on well worn and AU wheats? I mean after awhile there are a lot of devices that look fat and wide and how do you really know if it's not just wear, vs DDO.

Unfortunately there is a correlation between what ended up being lower classes (I-V) with those that are higher (VI-VIII/IX) and the worth (and also the covetousness) placed upon them. Certainly the biggest DDOs have been class I, II, II, IV or V with only a few rare exceptions (such as the 1943 DDO-001).

It is true, in lower (condition) grades, Lincolns with almost any doubling starts to loose the specific appearance it had previously when struck - most noticeably in LIBERTY, parts of Lincoln (like the bow-tie), then the date followed by the motto. Doubling also becomes, what has been observed as "mushy" in later die states - combined with some significant wear and attribution becomes a quandary as well a general plummet in the coin's covetousness.

As far as a misattribution, and I assume you mean with class VI (distended hub doubling), it is all in the specific characteristics of the extra thickness noted vs. the overall fatness seen on a worn wheat cent. Class VI is distorted in a specific and expected manner per the design characteristics and (at least to a well trained eye) not to be confused with general wear on a coin or that of a worn doubled die of another class.

Class VI (on a Lincoln, especially wheats) show a distortion on the lower and upper portions of LIBERTY, it is strongest in IBE, weakest in L & RTY; on the date it increases toward the rim and the lower portions of the 9; in the motto it is most notable on the lower protrusion of the E in WE and the leg of the R in TRUST. On the reverse, it is most common in EPU and parts of the wheat stalks, it is strongest in E PLU typically.