Tag Archives: 1969-S DDO

How does hub doubling happen?

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It’s called “hub doubling” for a reason. Before we get into what causes hub doubling, let’s define what the hub actually is and its role in the minting process.

Role of the Hub

A coin hub is a steel tool or punch with “positive,” or raised images of a coin’s design. The Mint uses the hub to create working dies (which have the negative, or sunken, image). The working dies are what actually strike the coin blanks to create the coins of all denominations. Here is an example.

As you can see, a hub is a master tool in the die-making process, ensuring that multiple working dies can be made consistently.

Its life, however, goes through many hands at the Mint. For starters, a design is created by an artist. That process involves dozens of people. A master hub is then made from this design. That creates all the working dies. One pair of working dies can produce hundreds of thousands of coins, and multiple working dies are created from hubs to keep up with large production runs.

Here is an example of working dies made by the hub.

Hub doubling occurs when the working die is misaligned or mismatched with the planchet. Every coin struck from that flawed die will exhibit the same doubling. That is why you cannot find a one-of-a-kind error.

Causes of Doubling

Before the mid 1990s, multiple impressions, or strikes, were required to transfer the complete design from the hub to the working die. A single press wasn’t powerful enough. The die blank had to be repeatedly heated and pressed. This issue often was the cause of doubled dies.

During this process, the hub and the die blank may not have been perfectly aligned during subsequent hubbings. This misalignment results in a duplicated image on the die face deviating from the approved design.

Errors and varieties happen when the hub or die inadvertently expands, contracts or tilts between hubbings due to improper annealing (heating) or pressure issues.

You won’t find many true and prominent modern doubled dies because the Mint now uses what is called “Single-Squeeze Process.” In other words, a high-pressure squeeze creates the die without all that warming and striking.

Here’s an example of that machine.

Doubling can still occur in the single-squeeze process if the hub slightly rotates or shifts under the extreme pressure before settling into place.

Also, the new machinery also virtually eliminated what used to be called “repunched mintmark.”

Hub doubling is a flaw in the die itself, so all coins produced by that die will show identical doubling. This is different from machine doubling, which is a minor, flat, shelf-like doubling that occurs during the actual coin striking process due to the die bouncing or shifting. As the working die deteriorates and is not changed for a new one by a Mint employee, you also will get machine doubling due to die deterioration.

Here’s an example of hub doubling featuring raised and rounded impressions v. machine doubling’s flat impressions.

Now let’s see how a true hub doubled die looks with the most famous example below.

Most Famous Example: 1955 DDO

The 1955 DDO is one of the most pronounced examples of hub doubling. You are not apt to see another like this because of the new improved machinery at the Mint. But this happened then because of pressure on the Mint to produce more cents in a high intensity work environment for the employees.

The night shift was so busy that many of the doubled die cents were mixed with other cents and released into circulation before the error was discovered. Employees and supervisors who learned about the mistake were not coin collectors. They actually believed the defective items had no special value.

The 1955 DDO is the top doubled die, with values between $1,000 to $300,000+ (depending on condition). Here are other Lincoln Cent doubled dies:

1969-S DDO

Clear doubling on the date, “LIBERTY,” and “IN GOD WE TRUST” ($13,000 to $600,000 depending on condition).

For more information, see Proxiblog’s article “Illusive 1969-S DDO.”

1972 DDO

Noticeable doubling on all obverse elements, especially “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “LIBERTY” ($175 to $23,500+ depending on condition).

For more information, see Proxiblog article: “9 1972 DDO Cents.”

1983 DDR

Doubling visible on the reverse side, particularly on “ONE CENT” and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” ($100 to $15,000+ depending on condition).

For more information, see Proxiblog’s “3 Must-Have Doubled Die Cents.”

1984 DDO

Doubling on Lincoln’s earlobe ($100 to $15,000+ depending on condition)

For more information, see Proxiblog’s “3 Must-Have Doubled Die Cents.”

1995 DDO

Strong doubling in the words “LIBERTY” and “IN GOD WE TRUST” ($5 to 3,200+ depending on condition).

For more information, see Proxiblog’s “3 Must-Have Doubled Die Cents.”

There is also an ultra-rare 1958 doubled die penny, but only three have been found to date.

Numismatic News reported in 2023 that GreatCollections of Irvine, Calif., handled the sale of the above coin. It received 117 bids and was hammered at $1,136,250 with buyer’s fee.

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Machine v. Hub Doubling

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With the emphasis now on error coins, thanks in part to coin microscope sales and hyperbolic coin values on social media, it is important to know the difference between machine and hub doubling.

This is a tutorial.

Let’s start with a photo showing a machined v. hub doubled 1969-S cent. Both look significant. Only one is. Can you tell the difference? (We’ll return to these coins momentarily.)

Machine doubling, the above left photo, adds no or little value to coins. It happens when a die at the Mint begins to deteriorate and so may bounce during a strike, creating a flat shelf-like image. The date, device, lettering and mintmark can appear to be doubled.

Hub doubling, valuable, indicates a flaw in the die itself. Unlike machine doubling, which happens during a strike, someone at the Mint made an etching mistake. Mintmarks before 1989 were punched into the die; but this is distinct from hub doubling. We call these deviations “repunched mintmarks” (RPM). Hub doubling produces a raised, rounded impression that follows the flow of the date, lettering or device.

Let’s illustrate this again more closely with the 1969-S DDO cent, one of the most illusive coins, worth a bundle. It is ultra rare with PCGS holdering only 30+ coins. You can read about that here.

Clickbait social media says you can find one in pocket change. Oh, and you’ll need to buy a coin microscope for that. Fat chance.

New collectors who routinely consult social media for any number of topics often believe these hyped posts. Odds are you will never find a 1969-S DDO in rolls or pocket change. But you can find dozens of machined doubled ones on eBay and elsewhere masquerading as an authentic 1969-S DDO with sellers asking hundreds and thousands for a faux coin:

Let’s return to the images mentioned earlier and show distinctions between machine doubled and authentic doubled dies:

Machine Doubling, Left; Hub Doubling, Right

The machine doubled cent has a flat, shelf-like doubling. The doubling does not mirror the individual numbers but seem pushed to the right. The hub doubled cent has raised rounded digits that follow the contours of the numbers.

In addition to the ability to distinguish between machine and hub doubling, veteran collectors know how to identify replicas flooding the market from China. You can buy these fake ultra rarities on venues like Etsy for less than $30.

These replicas are purchased by scammers and then posted on eBay as the real deal. Now you have to compare devices with genuine coins. To do that, google a genuine one in a PCGS holder and compare doubled devices.

The obvious difference is the word “Liberty.” Take a closer look:

The doubling on the replica is mushy and below the original letters of “Liberty”; the doubling on the authentic coin is above “Liberty” with each letter mirroring the original and shifted to the right.

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You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.