1942 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-006

Description

Struck in the wartime 35% silver alloy that distinguished 1942-1945 Jefferson nickels from their standard cupro-nickel counterparts, the 1942 Philadelphia DDR-006 exhibits light spread on OF AMERICA — a localized doubling confined to just two words of the reverse inscription. The silver composition, identified simply as "Silver" in the variety comments, was adopted after Congress authorized the emergency alloy to conserve nickel for wartime armor plating and other military applications. Philadelphia produced approximately 49.8 million silver-alloy nickels in 1942, the first year of the emergency composition, distinguished by a large P mintmark above Monticello's dome — the first time Philadelphia coinage ever carried a mintmark. VarietyVista catalogs DDR-006 under UVC-696 with die marriage reference DMR-045, and documents three die states: Stage A in Early Die State (unconfirmed), Stage B where both reverse and obverse are in Mid Die State, and Stage C in Late Die State (unconfirmed). The high DMR number of 045 reveals the impressive depth of the die marriage census for this date. Light spread restricted to OF AMERICA makes this a variety that demands focused examination of just two words on the reverse, positioned between the national eagle and the denomination. The confirmed Mid Die State at Stage B provides the most reliable diagnostic window, as the die surface shows moderate wear characteristics that can help distinguish genuine hub doubling from strike-related artifacts.

Die Markers

• UVC-696
• DMR-045
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References