1938 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-011

Description

Attributed by Whaden Curtis and carrying the Wexler Variety ID 1938 WDDR-011, this Class II (Distorted Hub) doubled die reverse was discovered on a 1938 Jefferson nickel, the inaugural year of the series. The doubling displays a constant Class II spread on E PLURIBUS UNUM, with slight doubling also visible on CA of AMERICA and UN of UNITED. The term "constant" indicates the doubling maintains a relatively uniform magnitude across the affected letters rather than varying in strength from one end of the inscription to the other. Reverse die markers include a vertical die scratch in the field above the left porch, a die scratch between the lower portions of C and E of CENTS, two die scratches to the lower left of F of OF, and a die scratch extending from the right side of the dome above the right porch, while the obverse shows no noted markers. The 1938 Jefferson nickel was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 75% copper and 25% nickel at 5.0 grams and 21.2 mm. Philadelphia produced 19,515,365 nickels in the first year of the Jefferson series, which replaced the Buffalo (Indian Head) nickel after its 25-year minimum circulation period. Felix Schlag won the 1938 public design competition for the new nickel, and his Monticello reverse design served as the canvas for this doubled die variety. Whaden Curtis's attribution of this first-year variety adds to the historical record of the Jefferson nickel's debut production, where new dies and unfamiliar design characteristics were being worked with for the first time by Mint personnel.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Whaden Curtis
• Wexler Variety ID: 1938 WDDR-011
• Expert attribution by Whaden Curtis

External References