1946-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-021

Description

Twenty-first in the obverse doubled die census for the 1946-D Roosevelt dime, DDO-021 shows light spread on the date, the designer's initials JS (John R. Sinnock) from top to bottom, and TRUST — a distribution that covers both the lower obverse periphery and the upper motto area. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-723 and DMR-060, documenting three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B where strong die scratches appear on both obverse and reverse surfaces at mid die state, and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The high DMR number (060) reflects the depth of die documentation for this date, with sixty reverse dies cataloged within the VarietyVista system. The obverse is identified as ODV-001, establishing the specific obverse design variant — an additional attribution checkpoint beyond the doubling diagnostics. John R. Sinnock designed both the obverse (Roosevelt portrait) and reverse (torch flanked by olive and oak branches) of the dime that debuted in January 1946, just months after Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in April 1945. Denver struck approximately 61.04 million dimes in 1946, the design's inaugural year, and the depth of the DDO census reaching at least 21 varieties demonstrates the extensive hub doubling documentation achieved for first-year Roosevelt dimes. The "top to bottom" directional notation for the JS initials doubling indicates the spread runs vertically, with the secondary impression displaced above or below the primary, providing a diagnostic orientation that helps distinguish DDO-021 from other doubled die varieties affecting the same design elements. Collectors should first look for the strong die scratches on the obverse noted in Stage B to narrow die identification, then examine the date, JS initials, and TRUST under 15-20x magnification for the light spread that characterizes this variety.

Die Markers

• UVC-723
• DMR-060
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Strong die scratches on Obverse – MDS
• Strong die scratches on Reverse – MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References