Specifications
- Denomination
- 1 cent
- Series
- Lincoln cent — Memorial reverse
- Designer
- Victor David Brenner
- Engraver
- Frank Gasparro
- Years of issue
- 1983
- Composition
- 2.5% Copper, 97.5% Zinc
- Weight
- 2.5 g
- Diameter
- 19 mm
- Edge
- Plain
- Key mintages
- Philadelphia struck 7,752,355,000 cents in 1983; the Mint never recorded how many came from the doubled working die (GreatCollections)
Melt value: $0.00
The boldest doubled die of the modern cent — doubling on UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and ONE CENT, readable without magnification.
History
- The 1983 Doubled Die Reverse is the strongest doubled die of the modern cent series and one of the boldest in the Lincoln run, cataloged as FS-801 in the Cherrypickers’ Guide (GreatCollections). It is a Philadelphia business strike (GreatCollections)
- Philadelphia struck 7,752,355,000 cents in 1983, but the Mint never recorded how many came from the doubled working die, so the variety has no separate mintage (GreatCollections)
- The planchet is the copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc core under a thin copper skin) adopted in mid-1982, taken up because rising copper prices had pushed the bronze cent’s cost past its face value (GreatCollections)
What is it worth
- Price ranges were not documented in the consulted references for this entry — compare live listings in the Market check below.
- Because the doubling is visible to the naked eye, the variety draws buyers who collect no other varieties (GreatCollections)
- An unspotted, fully red survivor is far scarcer than the huge mintage suggests (GreatCollections)
What drives the premium
- Full Red is the hard part: the copper plating is only microns thick, and breaks in it admit moisture that produces dark carbon spots and small blisters (GreatCollections)
How to identify the valuable variety
- Look at the reverse lettering: doubling shows on UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and ONE CENT, plainly separated and readable without magnification (GreatCollections)
Specifications
- Composition: Copper-plated zinc: 97.5% zinc core under a thin copper skin (GreatCollections)
- Weight: 2.5 g (GreatCollections)
- Diameter: 19.0 mm (GreatCollections)
- Edge: Plain
- Alignment: Not verified in consulted references
- Designers: Obverse: Victor David Brenner; reverse: Frank Gasparro (GreatCollections)
- Mint: Philadelphia — no mintmark (GreatCollections)
Collector notes
- 1983 Doubled Die Reverse (Philadelphia) — cataloged as FS-801 in the Cherrypickers’ Guide (GreatCollections)
Market check
Compare live listings for this coin on eBay:
Search eBay for 1983 Doubled Die Reverse Lincoln Cent
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