1941-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-001

Description

Listed in the Fivaz-Stanton Cherrypicker's Guide as FS-801, this primary doubled die reverse for the 1941-S Mercury dime carries significant collector recognition beyond the specialist die variety community. Michael L. Ellis reported the variety, which shows light spread on IBUS of PLURIBUS, UM of UNUM, the right star, E of DIME, and AMERICA across Weinman's fasces reverse. San Francisco produced approximately 43.1 million Mercury dimes in 1941, with this die further documented as carrying MMS-002 — a medium-size S mintmark variant. The FS-801 designation means this variety appears in the standard reference guide that many dealers and collectors use to identify valuable die varieties in circulation, giving it broader market visibility than varieties documented only in specialized catalogs. The obverse die is listed as DDO-001, establishing this as a dual-variety die marriage where both sides of the coin carry doubled die diagnostics from separate hub misalignment events. The scattered distribution of doubling across partial words — IBUS rather than full PLURIBUS, UM rather than full UNUM, just the E of DIME — indicates a complex spread pattern rather than a simple linear offset. The Fivaz-Stanton team's notation that new digital photographs are needed suggests that updated reference images could further aid collectors in attributing this variety.

External References