1946-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-003

Description

Cataloged third among obverse doubled dies for the inaugural Denver Mint striking of John R. Sinnock's Roosevelt dime, DDO-003 carries strong spread affecting the date, the designer's initials JS at the truncation of the neck, and the motto IN GOD WE TRUST arcing above Liberty's head. Sinnock's design entered production in January 1946 following Franklin D. Roosevelt's death the previous April, and Denver struck approximately 61.04 million dimes that year — the first time the facility produced the new design. VarietyVista assigned die identifiers UVC-041 and DMR-005, tracking three die stages through the production life of this working die: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C where both obverse and reverse surfaces have progressed to late die state. The LDS confirmation for Stage C indicates that specimens exist with measurable die fatigue — softened detail, possible die cracks, and reduced strike sharpness — providing collectors with a documented endpoint in the die state progression. An additional comment notes the obverse is designated ODV-001, linking this die to a specific obverse design variant classification within the VarietyVista system. The strong spread rating distinguishes DDO-003 from the more common light and medium spread varieties in the 1946-D DDO family, indicating clearly separated primary and secondary hub impressions that are visible under moderate magnification. Collectors should examine the JS initials at the base of the neck truncation, where the small serif letterforms betray doubling most readily, then confirm by tracing the top-to-bottom spread direction across the digits of the date and the individual letters of IN GOD WE TRUST. Fiber-optic lighting angled from below at roughly 10-15x magnification accentuates the vertical displacement between the two hub impressions on these design elements.

Die Markers

• UVC-041
• DMR-005
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Delma K. Romines
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References