1941 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-001

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1941 50¢ WDDO-001, this Walking Liberty Half Dollar displays a Class II spread toward the center on IGWT (IN GOD WE TRUST) — a convergent doubling pattern where the secondary hub impression shifted inward relative to the primary, pushing the doubled image of each affected letter toward the coin's center. The inward-directed spread on the motto is diagnostically significant because it produces doubling that appears on the interior side of the primary lettering, creating extra thickness that requires careful examination to distinguish from normal design relief. Obverse die markers include east-west die scratches connecting the upper area of the 1 and 9 in the date, and a light die crack running south-southeast from the center loop of the 9 in the date to the rim — progressive structural deterioration that helps establish die state. The reverse carries three diagnostic features: a die scratch running northeast from the left upright of the U in UNITED to the rim, a short die scratch running south from the lower right side of the U in UNITED, and two very short die scratches running south from the lower left side of the N in UNITED. No additional cross-references are currently known. The Walking Liberty Half Dollar, designed by Adolph A. Weinman, is widely considered one of the most beautiful coins ever produced by the United States Mint. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1941 in 90% silver composition, the coin weighs 12.50 grams with a 30.6 mm diameter. The obverse depicts Liberty striding forward with an American flag draped over her shoulders, and the reverse features a heraldic eagle perched on a mountain pine branch. The 1941 date falls during the final years of pre-war American coinage before wartime production priorities transformed Mint operations.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Richard Hana Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1941 50¢ WDDO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References