1931-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-001

Description

Depression-era Denver Mint production of the Mercury Dime yielded this primary doubled die obverse, where a Class II spread towards the center shows on the date, the letters of IGWT (IN GOD WE TRUST), the designer's initials, and the Y of LIBERTY — a spread pattern that affects multiple text elements across the obverse of Adolph A. Weinman's celebrated Winged Liberty Head design. Die markers for authentication include two die scratches extending NW from the top front of the wing and V-shaped die scratches above the D in GOD on the obverse, with a die scratch extending WSW from the upper left first U of UNUM on the reverse. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID: 1931-D 10¢ WDDO-001, with no other cross-references currently known. The 1931-D Mercury Dime had a mintage of only 1.26 million pieces — one of the lowest production figures in the entire Mercury Dime series (1916-1945) — making any documented die variety on this date inherently scarce. The Great Depression had dramatically reduced coin demand by 1931, and Denver's modest dime output that year consumed relatively few working dies, which means WDDO-001 may have struck a meaningful percentage of the total mintage before the die was retired. Weinman's design, with its intricate wing feathers and fine lettering, is notably responsive to hub doubling effects.

Attribution History

• Discovered by David Serbonich Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1931-D 10¢ WDDO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References