1946-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-011

Description

Eleventh in the reverse doubled die census for the 1946-S Roosevelt silver dime, DDR-011 exhibits light spread on AMERICA, UNUM, and DIME — three reverse inscriptions on John R. Sinnock's inaugural Roosevelt dime design that debuted in 1946 following President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death the previous year. VarietyVista cataloged this variety under UVC-118 and DMR-026, tracking three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C where both reverse and obverse surfaces have progressed to late die state. The LDS confirmation for Stage C establishes that well-worn die specimens exist for this variety. Two additional classification notes provide secondary diagnostics: the obverse utilizes ODV-001 (Obverse Design Variant 001), and the reverse carries mintmark style MMS-002 described as "Ball serif" — a distinctive terminal ball formation on the S mintmark that provides an independent identification point. San Francisco struck approximately 27.9 million Roosevelt dimes in 1946, the first year of the type, using 90% silver planchets. The confluence of an inaugural-year issue with a distinctive mintmark style and a documented doubled die reverse makes DDR-011 a multi-dimensional attribution target. The ball serif S mintmark (MMS-002) differs from the more common pointed or blunt serif styles, offering collectors a quick visual screening test before examining the more subtle light spread on the reverse inscriptions. Light spread on AMERICA, UNUM, and DIME requires 15-20x magnification for confident identification, as the doubling produces thickened letter strokes rather than clearly separated secondary images.

Die Markers

• UVC-118
• DMR-026
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Reverse and Obverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Frank Baumann
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References