1931-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-002

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1931-S 10¢ WDDO-002 and submitted by Thomas McGowan, this Mercury Dime displays a spread toward the center on the date, the letters of IN GOD WE TRUST, the designer's initials AW (for Adolph A. Weinman), and the Y of LIBERTY — a convergent doubling pattern where the secondary hub impression shifted inward relative to the primary, concentrating the visible displacement on inscriptions and design elements distributed across the obverse face. No cross-references to other cataloging systems are currently known. Obverse die markers include a die gouge to the left of the Y in LIBERTY, with no other significant obverse markers noted. Reverse markers provide two identification points: a die gouge between the lower I and T in UNITED, a small die gouge in the lower M in AMERICA, and a die scratch running south-southwest from the bottom left of the M in UNUM. The Mercury Dime — formally the Winged Liberty Head Dime — was designed by Adolph A. Weinman and struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1931. The 1931-S is a key date in the Mercury Dime series with a mintage of only approximately 1.8 million pieces, making it one of the lower-mintage issues and a challenging coin to locate in any condition, let alone with a confirmed doubled die variety. Composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, the coin weighs 2.50 grams with a diameter of 17.91 mm. The convergent center-directed spread affecting IGWT, the date, and the designer's initials creates multiple attribution checkpoints distributed across the obverse, allowing collectors to verify the variety by examining several independent areas rather than relying on a single diagnostic feature.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Thomas McGowan Cross References: None known
• s:; Wexler Variety ID: 1931-S 10¢ WDDO-002
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References