1945 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-002

Description

Light hub doubling characterizes DDR-002 on the 1945 Philadelphia Mercury dime, with spread visible on E PLURIBUS UNUM, DIME, the star device, and RICA of AMERICA — a partial word effect where only the final four letters of AMERICA received sufficient displacement to produce detectable doubling. The cross-reference 2-R-II-C identifies this within the VarietyVista classification as the second reverse variety, Class II pivoted hub doubling, subclass C. Die markers UVC-249 and DMR-007 fix the attribution. Philadelphia produced approximately 159.1 million Mercury dimes in 1945, the final year for Adolph Weinman's acclaimed design before it yielded to John Sinnock's Roosevelt dime in 1946. The partial word effect on AMERICA — where RICA shows doubling but AME does not — provides a revealing diagnostic clue about the hub geometry: the pivot point of the Class II rotation likely fell near the A-M region of AMERICA, causing letters progressively farther from the pivot to accumulate greater displacement. The star device provides an independent confirmation point, as its radiating points effectively display rotational spread when the point angles shift between primary and secondary impressions. The E PLURIBUS UNUM motto and DIME denomination complete the diagnostic map. Collectors examining final-year Mercury dimes should note that 1945 represents the last opportunity to find die varieties in this beloved series, lending an element of closure to any variety documented from the production run's concluding months.

Die Markers

• UVC-249, DMR-007

Attribution History

• 2-R-II-C

External References