1946-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-015

Description

Fifteenth among the obverse doubled dies documented for the first Denver Mint Roosevelt dime production, DDO-015 carries medium spread across the date, the designer's initials JS, and the motto IN GOD WE TRUST — a trio of design elements on John R. Sinnock's obverse that appears repeatedly as the diagnostic zone for this date's DDO family. Denver's approximately 61.04 million dime mintage in 1946 consumed a large number of working dies, and the depth of the doubled die census — reaching at least DDO-015 — reflects both the volume of die pairs used and the thoroughness with which VarietyVista has examined surviving specimens. Die identifiers UVC-083 and DMR-047 anchor this variety within the cataloging framework, with three die stages tracked: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C where both obverse and reverse surfaces have advanced to late die state. The confirmed LDS for Stage C provides the sole verified die state anchor point, indicating that late-die-state specimens have been positively identified and documented. The obverse is designated ODV-001, linking DDO-015 to the same obverse design variant classification shared by several other 1946-D doubled die obverses — a connection that helps researchers understand how many distinct hub impressions produced the various DDO dies for this date. Medium spread places DDO-015 in the middle tier of visibility: the doubling is discernible under standard magnification without the dramatic separation characteristic of strong spread varieties, yet it exceeds the near-overlapping subtlety of light spread entries. The top-to-bottom spread direction on the designer's initials is particularly diagnostic, as the small JS letters at the neck truncation show vertical displacement most clearly when viewed under 10-15x magnification with the coin oriented in standard upright position. Comparing DDO-015 against DDO-003 and DDO-014 requires attention to the unique die markers, as the affected design elements and spread descriptions are similar across multiple entries in this family.

Die Markers

• UVC-083
• DMR-047
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References