1996D DDO/DDR (possibly tripled?!) - All help appreciated!

[Guest]

Hello! While this is certainly not the prettiest Lincoln I have, it certainly is the most interesting right now. I started collecting a few months ago and have become very familiar with MD, doubled dies, clashes, etc...but can not find any listing for this variety. This coin seems to be not only doubled, but also tripled in some places, and this is visible on the Obverse: bowtie, vdb, eye, ear, nose, lips, etc... and the Reverse: columns, USA, motto, FG, and possibly lincoln's statue. I believe the Denver mint began using the single-squeeze hubbing process in '96, but I think that in the beginning of '96, some coins were still made using the old method. Any ideas which could have produced these results? I'm not quite certain what I have here, as you'll see from the pics, but I thank you in advance for helping me to identify this. The pictures below are of the Obverse only as there are simply so many things to see on both sides. I'll attempt to respond to this with the reverse photos. I appreciate your opinions/help!

[hasfam]

Boy, it's really tough to tell anything from the photos due to the blurriness, darkness and pixelation but I'm pretty confident this is not a doubled die. There are many forms of MD (machine doubling) and many other forms or ways the devices or areas of a coin can look doubled. Die wear and deterioration is a frequent culprit. Strike doubling or machine doubling, as I said can take on many different looks and can happen at anytime during the striking process. There are also die chips and gouges formed in places next to a device that sometimes take on the look of a doubled die. I think it's not only imprtant to learn and be able to identify what is not a doubled die, but more importantly, to learn what is a doubled die and how to identify all of it's classes. Again, Though it's not clear in the photos, I'm sure you are correct in that there is a lot going on with this coin, but not hub doubling.

[copperlover]

I have to agree that this is certainly not a doubled die for this date and have to say that there is no thickness or separation lines on the date or other devices but rather Machine Doubling. Keep looking for DDOs for this date as there may be a good find awaiting you.

Lucien

[sunnyj]

Reverse

Thank you for your responses. I apologize - I am still getting the hang of taking photos. I am using a celestron microscopic digital camera and I haven't figured out lighting for it yet. I'm going to post a few photos of the reverse. There is a very obvious separation in the initials FG, as well as many other letters, as well as some columns. I'll work on retaking both obverse and reverse photos with better lighting bc there is strong separation on VDB, lincoln's eye, and his bowtie. Thank you for bearing with me and for weighing in!

[hasfam]

I don't see hub doubling in these photos either. I do see a little die deterioration doubling in a couple of the photos though.

[simonm]

Welcome to the forum!
Unfortunately, I am not seeing any evidence of a doubled die on either the obverse or reverse.
Keep up the hunt!

[sunnyj]

comparison

Again, thank you for all your help/comments. I'm off to my shop to get better lighting, but before I go I wanted to post a comparison picture of the bowtie, a 1996D I had in my wallet and the 1996D coin in question. I'm not sure why I'm seeing something you're not, so I'm trying to figure it out! Thank you again!!

[mustbebob]

If we can't get the lighting issue fixed, then this one would need to be seen in hand for a proper determination. I don't see anything on the pictures provided, but obviously there is something there that has your attention. The glare is just a killer in your photos.

[GrumpyEd]

I can't see anything that looks like hub doubling, what I can see looks like what hasfam explained.
The extra columns do show in the pics but those are a normal pert of the design, they are only on some of the columns and they show better on some coins than others.

[jcuve]

Welcome to the forum!
Not hub doubling (i.e. not a doubled die) on either side of the coin. You have a little bit of everything, machine doubling (MD, plating issues, die wear and circulation damage. And a case of over-analysis. I am afraid you're looking too hard at one coin. Keep up the hunt!

[Peter]

Welcome to the Forum! Try using the search function in the menu items above if you are looking for information on a particular subject, coin or in getting help on identifying a die variety. For more great information look at lincolncentresource.com.

[sunnyj]

Thank you so much, everyone, for the input. I'm a few months into this and you're right, jcuve...WAY too much time spent on one coin - and it's unfortunately not the first coin I've wasted time on! I'm loving looking for the different varieties and errors, understand the difference between machine doubling and doubled die, but am having a very difficult time telling the difference between doubled dies and deteriorated dies that look doubled, simply bc both seem to have the rounded, raised image and even notches in some cases. I can't seem to find a good place to learn how to tell this difference, but I'll keep searching. Right to the above posters, too - better lighting has certainly made a huge difference in helping with some of these issues! Just got a few rolls of wheats in, and so excited with the rpms and omms identified, but I'm going to be triple checking these before posting for confirmation. Again, thank you so much for boosting my learning curve here!

[simonm]

Hi sunnyj,
If you are having difficulties telling the "worthless" doubling from a true doubled die, I would encourage you to check out the following link that will explain other forms of doubling, such as mechanical (machine) doubling, abrasion doubling, as well as die deterioration doubling. http://www.doubleddie.com/144801.html
Keep up the hunt!