1940-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-002

Description

Pinpointing its doubling to an unusually specific location, DDR-002 on the 1940-S Jefferson Nickel exhibits light spread on FIVE CENTS and the last O of MONTICELLO — a precise letter-level diagnosis that narrows the pickup area to a single character within the building's name. Die markers UVC-661 and DMR-006 confirm this working die. The isolation of the final O as the only detectably doubled letter in MONTICELLO indicates the hub displacement direction aligned with this particular letter's position while the adjacent L showed insufficient offset for reliable detection. On Felix Schlag's reverse, MONTICELLO appears below the building image and FIVE CENTS occupies the lower reverse field, placing both affected areas in the lower half of the die where the displacement vector apparently concentrated its visible effect. The 1940-S was struck at the San Francisco Mint in standard copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel), only the third year of Jefferson Nickel production since the series launched in 1938. Early Jefferson Nickel varieties from 1938-1941 are of particular interest to specialists assembling comprehensive variety collections of the pre-wartime issues. Collectors should examine the second O in MONTICELLO under 7x to 10x magnification for a subtle secondary image.

Die Markers

• UVC-661; DMR-006

External References