1940-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-005

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1940-D 10¢ WDDR-005, this Mercury Dime exhibits a Class II spread toward the center visible on STATES OF AMERICA and the uppermost olive branch leaves — a convergent doubling pattern where the secondary hub impression shifted inward relative to the primary during die manufacture. The reverse of this die also carries an independently listed repunched mintmark documented in the Wexler RPM Files as 1940-D 10¢ WRPM-008, showing a D/D North displacement — making this a dual-variety die that combines two distinct manufacturing anomalies on a single working die face. Obverse die markers include a short die scratch running from west to east through the top of the R in LIBERTY. The reverse presents multiple diagnostic features: a die scratch running southwest from the center of the A in STATES, a die crack running through the top of the ME in AMERICA, and die scratches forming an X-shaped pattern to the left of the right star. Adolph A. Weinman designed the Mercury Dime, more accurately described as the Winged Liberty Head Dime, with its obverse depicting Liberty wearing a winged Phrygian cap symbolizing freedom of thought. Struck at the Denver Mint in 1940, the coin is composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, weighing 2.50 grams with a diameter of 17.9 mm and a reeded edge. The coexistence of both a doubled die reverse and a repunched mintmark on the same die is noteworthy because it documents two separate stages of the die preparation process — the hubbing that created the doubling and the subsequent hand-punching that created the RPM — preserved together on a single piece of numismatic evidence.

Attribution History

• s:; Wexler Variety ID: 1940-D 10¢ WDDR-005
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References