Letters to the Editor: April 18, 2023

More to the Story of 1958 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent

There has been a lot of numismatic media coverage regarding the recent record auction sale of $1,136,250 that was paid for a 1958 doubled die obverse Lincoln cent graded MS-65 RD (PCGS). Some commentaries erroneously opined that it was the first Lincoln cent to shatter the $1 million barrier. In reality, it was the first doubled die Lincoln cent to have broken the seven-figure ceiling for an auction sale. I felt the current owner(s) may be interested in knowing a little additional history in reference to such a coveted, esoteric rarity.

In September of 2010, in a private sale, Legend Numismatics sold a one-of-a-kind 1943-D “Bronze” Lincoln cent in MS-64 BN (PCGS) for an amazing $1.7 million, which set the record for the sale of any Lincoln cent.

I was actually the first coin dealer to acquire and subsequently sell a 1958 doubled die cent. An elderly Philadelphia error collector (Charles Ludovico) whom I acquired the coin from had discovered three of them in a mint sewn bag in 1960! He confided in me that he had, without any fanfare, initially sold one of the uncertified examples to a collector friend of his, retaining the other two examples.

After a number of friendly phone conversations and mail correspondences, “Charlie” (he insisted that I call him) shipped his second uncertified coin to me. At the time, neither NGC nor PCGS would initially recognize it for authentication/grading so I contacted ANACS. The latter service immediately welcomed the opportunity to certify it, and their graders were highly thrilled to authenticate and grade such a rarity that few individuals had ever seen! I strongly opined it would grade MS-64 RD, which indeed, it was attributed as such.

On July 16, 1996, I sold the coin to a collector client of mine who offered $25,025, which set a record. Four years later, the same owner consigned the coin (since crossed over to PCGS) to my firm, and on Sept. 5, 2000, I sold it to another client, also a collector, for $57,500, smashing my previous record! After several years, I was told by the latter client that he had sold the coin for “just over $100,000” in a private sale to a collector friend of his, again, a record. In March of 2018, the same coin was consigned for an auction sale to Stack’s Bowers Galleries. I was excited and delighted to see my old MS-64 RD friend, being bid up to an amazing record-setting auction sale price of $336,000.

In 2005, Mr. Ludovico (since deceased), who had discovered and possessed all three 1958 doubled die cents, confided in me that he was being pressured to sell his third and final piece. I silently brokered his coin behind the scenes, which sold “in excess of $100,000” to a New York City collector who was a former client of mine. Knowing human nature, I always felt “Charlie” would have kept the nicest piece for last (which he did), because PCGS subsequently graded it MS-65 RD, the highest grade attained of the three examples known to exist. The coin, which was acquired by the aforementioned New York City Lincoln cents collector extraordinaire, was the one that sold on Jan. 22, 2023, for an astounding $1,136,250 in a GreatCollections auction!

In closing, I will borrow a paragraph from my Jan. 3, 2013, article I was asked by PCGS to write about the 1958 doubled die cent: “Regardless of the enigma surrounding the circumstances which led to its production, it is a coin that is uniquely elusive and extremely rare. There will always be a yearning to acquire one in order to complete the collection of that breed of aficionado, one who demands the ultimate coin in order to fanatically extol his/her bragging rights!”

Sam Lukes
Visalia, Calif.