Doubled die is a term in numismatics used to refer to doubling in the design elements of a coin. Doubled dies can appear as an outline of the design or in extreme cases, having legends and dates appear twice in an overlapping fashion.
Doubled die error coins can fetch significant prices when they are noticeable to the naked eye or occur in a popular coin series. One example of this is the 1955 doubled die Lincoln Wheat cent.
Note that the proper terminology for this occurrence includes the letter 'd' at the end of the first word, hence "doubled die". The term "double die" without the first word ending in 'd' is not proper numismatic terminology.
Read more about Doubled Die: Classes of Doubled Dies, United States Coinage
Famous quotes containing the words doubled and/or die:
“A taste for drink, combined with gout,
Had doubled him up forever.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“At first thy little being came:
If nothing once, you nothing lose,
For when you die you are the same;
The space between, is but an hour,
The frail duration of a flower.”
—Philip Freneau (1752–1832)