1943 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-005

Description

Attributed by John A. Wexler himself and cataloged as 1943-P WDDO-005, this wartime Jefferson Nickel carries a Class V pivoted hub doubling signature with close spread visible on LIBERTY, the five-pointed star, and the date. Class V doubling occurs when the hub rotates slightly around a pivot point between successive impressions on the working die, generating a curved displacement path that produces increasing offset as distance from the pivot grows — on this die, the spread concentrates on the left-side obverse elements where the rotational arc generated the greatest linear displacement. The close spread intensity indicates the pivot rotation was subtle, producing doubling that requires careful examination under 7x magnification to fully resolve on all three affected areas. Obverse die markers include a die chip on Jefferson's earlobe — a small raised bump where die metal has fractured and fallen away, leaving a void that fills with metal during striking — plus die scratches in the field to the left of his eye and nose, providing two independent attribution checkpoints. The reverse carries its own diagnostic fingerprint: an N/S (north-south) die crack traversing the building, a die dot below the small right window, and a die scratch to the left of the small left window on Felix Schlag's Monticello rendering. Struck during World War II, the 1943-P Jefferson Nickel was produced in the special wartime silver alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese — a composition adopted to conserve nickel for military use — and bears the distinctive large mintmark above Monticello's dome that characterizes all wartime silver nickels (1942-1945). The wartime alloy's different metallurgical properties can affect how hub doubling transfers to struck coins compared to the standard copper-nickel composition.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler
• Wexler Variety ID: 1943-P WDDO-005
• Expert attribution by John A. Wexler

External References