1940 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-005

Description

DDO-005 on the 1940 Philadelphia Jefferson nickel exhibits light doubling on LIBERTY, the star, and the date — three obverse elements spanning from left to right across the die face. The 1940 was only the third year of Jefferson nickel production, and the design was still in its early maturity as Mint engravers refined the working hubs for Schlag's portrait. Philadelphia produced approximately 176.4 million nickels in 1940, a substantial leap from the inaugural 1938 mintage of 19.5 million, reflecting the denomination's growing circulation demand as the nation emerged from the Depression. VarietyVista classifies this variety as UVC-648 with die marriage DMR-011. With at least five DDOs cataloged for the 1940 Philadelphia date, this issue shows a pattern of hub doubling occurrences that may relate to the production scaling during these early years of the design. Light doubling on the spread of elements — LIBERTY, star, and date — is best confirmed by examining each element sequentially under consistent magnification, verifying that the direction and magnitude of displacement are consistent across all three zones.

Die Markers

• UVC-648; DMR-011

External References