1945 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-016

Description

Showing very light spread on RTY of LIBERTY, this sixteenth doubled die obverse for the 1945 Washington Silver Quarter documents a subtle hubbing anomaly from the final year of World War II. Die markers include UVC-0532, DMR-017, with Stage A at Early Die State (unconfirmed), Stage B showing both obverse and reverse at Mid Die State, and Stage C at Late Die State (unconfirmed). The 1945 Washington Quarter was struck in 90% silver composition — the standard alloy that had been used for quarters since 1932 and would continue until the Coinage Act of 1965 mandated the switch to clad composition. John Flanagan's profile portrait of George Washington, based on the 1786 Houdon bust, features fine hair detail and crisp lettering that make even very light hub doubling detectable under magnification when it occurs on letters like RTY in LIBERTY. Sixteen documented doubled die obverse varieties for a single date reflects the wartime production conditions at the Philadelphia Mint, where high demand for coinage to support the economy and military operations drove extensive die consumption. Each die pair manufactured during this period carried an independent probability of hubbing misalignment, and the large number of dies consumed annually made some level of doubled die production statistically inevitable. Cataloged by VarietyVista, DDO-016 occupies a high sequence number that indicates thorough research coverage of the 1945 Washington Quarter's die variety population, with specialists identifying subtle varieties that would escape casual observation.

Die Markers

• UVC-0532
• DMR-017
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Hiemke
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References