1942 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-003

Description

Third reversed doubled die for the 1942 Jefferson nickel, DDR-003 presents light spread on OF AMERICA, CENTS, and the last O of MONTICELLO on Felix Schlag's reverse depicting Thomas Jefferson's Virginia plantation home. VarietyVista documented this variety under UVC-018 and DMR-013, with three die stages fully confirmed: Stage A with reverse and obverse at early die state, Stage B with both at mid die state, and Stage C with both at late die state — a complete progression providing collectors with verified reference points across the entire production life of this die pair. The comment notation contains two significant attributions: "Silver" indicates this variety was struck on the wartime silver-composition Jefferson nickel (the 35% silver, 56% copper, 9% manganese alloy used from October 1942 through 1945 to conserve nickel for war production), and "Reverse is LISTED as RPM-009" reveals that the reverse die paired with DDR-003 also carries a repunched mintmark designation. The dual attribution — doubled die reverse plus repunched mintmark on the same reverse die — makes this a particularly interesting variety for collectors pursuing multiple error types. The 1942 wartime nickel transition occurred mid-year, with standard copper-nickel composition coins produced early in the year and silver-alloy coins beginning production in October, identifiable by their large P, D, or S mintmark placed above Monticello's dome. Light spread on OF AMERICA and CENTS indicates subtle hub displacement in the lower inscription area of the reverse, while the last O of MONTICELLO provides an additional diagnostic point in the building's name. Collectors should examine the OF AMERICA letters under 15-20x magnification for thickened strokes indicating the light spread, while also checking the mintmark for the RPM-009 secondary impression to confirm the dual-variety attribution.

Die Markers

• UVC-018
• DMR-013
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• Reverse and Obverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References