More than 40 years after its discovery, Canada’s 1967 “Doubled Die Obverse” cent is now recognized by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), a third-party grading service based in the United States.
In the 1970s, collectors discovered some of the commemorative circulation coins struck for the centennial of Canada’s Confederation in 1967 featured a moderate doubled-die variety on the obverse.
Also known as hub doubling, a doubled die is a form of die variety in which a coin’s design elements are doubled due to a misaligned die and hub.
With the 1967 doubled-die cent, the doubling is seen on the lettering of “D • G • REGINA.”
The variety was discovered in 1977 by Texas numismatist Robert Wilharm, according to long-time numismatic researcher and journalist Ken Potter, of Michigan, who acquired an example from a John Wexler auction in the following decade.
More recently, an example was submitted to PCGS for the first time. The submitter requested the “Doubled Die Obverse” attribution, which has since been added to PCGS’ recognized variety list and given its own spec number.
“This doubled die exhibits pivoted hub doubling, which most people require magnification to see,” wrote Jay Turner in an article posted on pcgs.com. “But for Canadian coinage, where true doubled dies are seemingly scarce, it is significant.”