1940-D Doubled Die Reverse DDR-002

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die markers UVC-653 and DMR-006, the 1940-D Jefferson Nickel DDR-002 displays light spread on E PLURIBUS UNUM, FIVE CENTS, and the letters LLO of MONTICELLO — three distinct areas of the reverse that together map the hub displacement vector across Felix Schlag's Monticello design. Three die stages are identified: Stage A shows the mintmark positioned high and slightly rotated in early die state with the obverse also in EDS, Stage B places both reverse and obverse in mid-die state, and Stage C is late die state (unconfirmed). The high and slightly rotated mintmark in Stage A provides an important supplementary diagnostic: while the mintmark rotation is separate from the hub doubling event (mintmarks were hand-punched independently), its distinctive positioning helps confirm attribution to this specific working die. The light spread across E PLURIBUS UNUM, FIVE CENTS, and LLO of MONTICELLO indicates a modest hub displacement that produced uniformly subtle doubling, with the three-letter sequence LLO at the end of MONTICELLO providing a useful focused diagnostic target. The 1940-D was struck at the Denver Mint in its third year of Jefferson Nickel production, in 75% copper and 25% nickel at 5.0 grams and 21.2 mm diameter. Denver produced 43,540,000 nickels in 1940. As DDR-002, this variety holds the second catalog position among doubled die reverses for this date-mint, representing a documented but less prominent variety than the primary DDR-001 listing.

Die Markers

• UVC-653
• DMR-006
• Stage A:
• Mintmark is high and slightly rotated – EDS
• Obverse is EDS
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Calvin O. Levorson
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References