1943 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-001

Description

Holding the primary WDDO designation for the 1943 Mercury dime, WDDO-001 exhibits a close spread towards the center on the date and designer's initials — key diagnostic areas on Adolph A. Weinman's Winged Liberty Head design that has been in production since 1916. The center-directed spread indicates the secondary hub impression contracted slightly relative to the primary, a Class IV (Offset Hub) mechanism where the hub pivoted or shifted to produce displacement that converges toward the design center rather than radiating outward. The obverse die carries distinctive markers: die scratches running northwest to southeast above the word GOD in IN GOD WE TRUST, providing an independent fingerprint for this working die. The reverse preserves a diagnostic of its own: a die clash mark extending south from the leaves to the left of ER in AMERICA — evidence that this die pair experienced at least one clash event where the obverse and reverse dies struck each other without an intervening planchet, transferring faint design elements between the two surfaces. Philadelphia struck approximately 191.7 million dimes in 1943, a wartime production run that maintained silver dime output even as the nickel composition was altered to conserve strategic metals. The combination of hub doubling and die clash evidence on the same die marriage provides a rich attribution package. Collectors should first verify the die by locating the NW/SE die scratches above GOD on the obverse, then examine the date digits and Weinman's AW initials (located at the base of Liberty's neck) under 15-20x magnification for center-directed close spread — thickened or slightly displaced digit contours and initial letterforms that indicate the secondary impression's inward displacement.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Thomas McGowan Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1943 10¢ WDDO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References