1915-D Lincoln DDO (Coneca 1-O-VIII / WDDO-001)?

Check CC's site and you might need to clean up the 9 to see a marker.
John1

The mint mark on the second one looked too low to me so I did a quick overlay of the Wexler coin. Your coin is the lower D when the dates are aligned.

OK, NOW I'm excited!

Let me explain why.

First, thank you tropicalbats for the overlay. That's conclusive. The second coin didn't come from the same die as the first coin or the Wexler coin. You are awesome for doing the overlay. Thank you Slamnbass for your verification of the mm position and different die issue.

Second, mission control, we have a problem, but it's a fun one. Both coins have strikingly (pun intended) similar "L" issues: an angled bar beneath the "L" and a wedge-shaped bar to the lower left of the "L." These strongly suggest that the "L" is doubled at a very similar angle. The slight differences in the lower bar may be able to be explained by quality of strike, die wear, and circulation. Let's set that aside for a moment, because I think there is a better explanation. There is a much bigger problem: What caused that issue with the "L"?

I can only see three possibilities:

(a) Neither coin is a DDO. The bar and wedge adjacent to the "L" is caused by die damage from a similar source, and only appears to be a doubled "L." Problem: It sure lookslike a Class VIII spread. (Compare to the 1964 Class VIII DDO Lincoln, with the hub tilted in the other direction for the "L" in "LIBERTY.") Also, I can't think of what could cause such similar damage on two dies, straddling but not obliterating the "L."

(b) One coin is a doubled "L" but the other looks very similar, but has a different cause. Problem: both coins look much more alike than different on the "L." Different causation should produce much more dramatically different appearances.

(c) Both are doubled dies. In this situation, Philadelphia would have hubbed two dies, likely in short succession, with the hub tilted in approximately the same orientation for the dastardly squeeze. This would account for the similar appearance and the minor differences. this would account for the different mm positions. And it would account for the differences in the die markers. It would also account for why there seem to be quite a few examples of the 1915-D DDO. Doing the hubbing close to the same time would also explain why both dies were given Denver mint marks. It could also partially account for why one coin has a much sharper strike than the other.

I think we have a new 1915-D DDO on our hands.

What does everybody think about this scenario? Right? Wrong? Plausible? Are there any other viable explanations?

You're welcome. I am glad you are enjoying this coin collecting hobby. Coin collecting can be challenging, but that's what makes it so adventurous and fun! I am glad I was able to help. Take care.

tropicalbats, you rock! Here's another puzzle.

My first coin, like the Copper Coins image, but (maybe) unlike the Wexler image has the small die break or gouge (it's hard top tell) from 11 o'clock to 2 o'clock in the top of the curl of the "5." That coin also has the CC die markers in the "9" and to the right of the lower part of "E" on the reverse and about 50-50 that it may have the slight doubling on the vertical of the "B" in "LIBERTY." The wear and some circulation dings make that identification iffy.

I've taken the "L" on both coins up to 100x, and I'm convinced both of them are doubled. On the first coin, there is a faint wedge to the lower left of the L, partially obscured by the metal flow toward the rim. The wedge is clearer on the second coin, but as you correctly noted that isn't from the same die as the Wexler coin.

Let's ponder this for a moment. Is it possible that there are three different dies with a Class VIII spread on the "L"? One would be the Wexler WDDO-001. The second would be my first coin and the CC example. The third would be my second coin. If they hubbed several working dies at the same time and didn't adjust the tilted working hub between working dies, there could be quite a few 1915-D DDO varieties. They would have similarities on the "L" but wide differences in mm placement, die markers, and die state. That would also explain why there are so many 1915 Class VIII DDOs out there.

I can't get past my rebuttal to the first option I posed in my upthread post. If neither is a DDO, what caused the appearance of the "L"? And how did it cause both the wedge to the left of the lower "L" and the bar angling SE below the horizontal if the "L" without obliterating the intervening portion of the "L"?

I think we have stumbled across something that is much bigger than yes/no on the WDDO-001 question. (That clearly is "no" on at least the second coin.) I really think the multiple-DDO-dies option needs some serious study. Wouldn't that make 1915-D more fun!