1945 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-018

Description

Bearing VarietyVista die markers UVC-0534 and DMR-019, DDO-018 on the 1945 Washington Silver Quarter presents a light spread concentrated on RTY of LIBERTY, the ribbon end below the ponytail, and the 5 of the date — three spatially separated zones whose involvement maps the displacement vector of the hub misalignment during die production. The selective spread on only the terminal three letters of LIBERTY, rather than the full word, indicates the doubling axis lay at an angle that produced measurable displacement in the right portion of the inscription while the leftward letters LI and B fell closer to the pivot or contact zone where offset was negligible. The ribbon end and the 5 of the date provide vertically separated confirmation points, establishing that the displacement extended from the mid-obverse down through the date area. Three die stages document the life cycle of this die pairing with unusual detail. Stage A and Stage B are both classified as unconfirmed, meaning positive identifications of specimens from early and middle die states have not been firmly established. Stage C reaches Late Die State and carries the most dramatic die marker: a die crack traversing across Washington's forehead and into the hair, paired with a reverse also in Late Die State — the forehead crack serving as the most immediately visible attribution feature for this variety, since die cracks across portrait features tend to be large enough to spot without magnification. The combination of a light doubled die with a prominent late-state die crack creates a variety that is often first noticed for its crack and only subsequently attributed as a DDO upon closer date and legend examination. Struck in 90% silver at the Philadelphia Mint during the final year of World War II, the 1945 Washington Quarter had a substantial wartime mintage.

Die Markers

• UVC-0534
• DMR-019
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Die crack across forehead and hair – LDS
• Reverse is LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Hiemke
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References