1945-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-006

Description

Light spread confined to the inscription STATES OF AMERICA characterizes DDR-006 for the 1945-S Washington quarter, one of the final silver quarter issues before the mint mark hiatus of 1965-1967. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-0709 and DMR-023, documenting three die stages: Stage A where both reverse and obverse surfaces exhibit confirmed early die state characteristics, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The EDS confirmation for Stage A indicates specimens with fresh, unworn die surfaces have been verified. San Francisco struck approximately 17.00 million Washington quarters in 1945, the final year of World War II, using the standard 90% silver composition that would continue until 1964. John Flanagan's heraldic eagle reverse places STATES OF AMERICA in an arc along the upper periphery, and light hub doubling on these letters produces subtly thickened character strokes that require careful examination to distinguish from the normal strike characteristics. A distinctive notation accompanies this variety: the reverse carries MMS-002 with the designation "Trumpet Tail," identifying a specific mintmark style where the S mintmark features a flared or trumpet-shaped tail — a detail that results from the particular mintmark punch used to engrave this working die and serves as an important secondary diagnostic independent of the DDR attribution. The trumpet tail S mintmark style has been documented across multiple 1940s San Francisco quarter die varieties and represents one of several S-punch variants in service during this period. Collectors should first examine the S mintmark for trumpet tail characteristics to help confirm the die, then evaluate STATES OF AMERICA at 15-20x magnification for consistent letter thickening indicative of hub doubling rather than strike variation.

Die Markers

• UVC-0709
• DMR-023
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by ZAP's coins
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References