1945-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-003

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1945-D 10-cent WDDO-003, this Mercury Dime doubled die obverse displays a northward spread across an impressively broad range of Adolph A. Weinman's obverse design elements. The affected areas include the date, IN GOD WE TRUST, the designer's initials AW, the tips of the wing feathers between the R and T in LIBERTY, the letters BER in LIBERTY, and the top of the winged Phrygian cap (often mistakenly described as a bonnet). The northward displacement means the secondary hub impression was offset upward, creating doubled images that appear above the primary design on each affected element. The breadth of this spread — spanning the date at the bottom, the motto, designer initials, feather tips, partial LIBERTY inscription, and the cap at the top — indicates a hub displacement of sufficient magnitude to exceed the visibility threshold across most of the obverse die face. Obverse die markers include a die scratch running west from the top of the T in LIBERTY and a die scratch running southwest to northeast to the left of the nose. The reverse carries a small die gouge (dot) below the O in OF. The Mercury Dime was designed by Weinman, struck at the Denver Mint in 90% silver composition, weighing 2.5 grams at 17.9 mm diameter. The 1945-D represents the final year of the Mercury Dime series before its replacement by the Roosevelt Dime in 1946, making varieties from this terminal year of particular interest to series specialists. The wing feather tips between R and T in LIBERTY offer one of the most elegant diagnostic checkpoints, as the fine feather detail amplifies even modest northward displacement into visible doubled lines.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Thomas McGowan Cross References: None known
• s:; Wexler Variety ID: 1945-D 10¢ WDDO-003
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References