1940-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-004

Description

Adolph Weinman's "Winged Liberty Head" design — popularly known as the Mercury dime despite depicting Liberty wearing a winged Phrygian cap rather than the Roman god — provides generous diagnostic area for doubled die detection, and DDO-004 on the 1940-S issue displays strong extra thickness on IN GOD WE TRUST, the date, and the designer's initials (AW, positioned at the truncation of Liberty's neck). The cross-reference designation 4-O-II-C identifies this as the fourth obverse variety, Class II pivoted doubling, subtype C under the VarietyVista classification framework. San Francisco produced approximately 21.6 million Mercury dimes in 1940, contributing to the series' final years of production before the Roosevelt dime replaced it in 1946. VarietyVista catalogs this die under UVC-119 with die marriage reference DMR-005. Strong extra thickness on the motto, date, and designer's initials indicates the secondary hub impression nearly overlapped the primary, producing letters and numerals that appear bolder and heavier than the standard die's output rather than showing clearly separated secondary images. This strong classification makes DDO-004 one of the more visually accessible Mercury dime doubled dies, detectable under moderate magnification without requiring specialized lighting techniques. The date numerals "1940" and the small AW initials provide particularly effective diagnostics, as their small scale amplifies the visual effect of extra thickness relative to the letter height.

Die Markers

• UVC-119, DMR-005

Attribution History

• 4-O-II-C

External References