1943-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-008

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1943-S 25¢ WDDO-008 and cross-referenced as CONECA 4-O-IV, this Washington Silver Quarter displays a spread toward the center on LIBERTY increasing from left to right, with extra thickness showing slightly on IGWT (IN GOD WE TRUST). The left-to-right progression of the spread across LIBERTY indicates a hub displacement vector that produced greater separation at the rightmost letters, creating a gradient effect where the doubling becomes increasingly visible from L through Y. Submitted by John A. Wexler himself, obverse markers include a die crack running across the base of the bust and the lower queue (the ponytail at the back of Washington's head), and a die scratch running southwest-northeast through the lower R in LIBERTY. Reverse markers include feeder finger abrasions through the upper TE in STATES and a die crack running down the eagle's right wing. The feeder finger abrasions are distinctive because they result from the coin feeding mechanism rather than die production — raised linear marks created when the blank planchet's feeding fingers contact the die surface during automated coin feeding operations. The CONECA Class IV designation indicates Offset Hub Doubling, where the hub was displaced laterally during the secondary impression. The Washington Quarter was designed by John Flanagan and struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1943 in 90% silver at 6.25 grams with a 24.3 mm diameter. The die crack system across the bust base and down the eagle's right wing documents concurrent structural failure on both dies, suggesting this pair was approaching the end of its service when these specimens were struck.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: CONECA: 4-O-IV
• CONECA: 4-O-IV; Wexler Variety ID: 1943-S 25¢ WDDO-008
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References