1946-S Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-001

Description

Anchoring the doubled die reverse catalog for the 1946 San Francisco Mint Walking Liberty Half Dollar, WDDR-001 exhibits a spread toward center with strong extra thickness on the rim letters, dots, E PLURIBUS UNUM, pine needles, and pine cones. Remarkably, a third hubbing produced tripling on some letters, elevating this beyond a standard doubled die into a triple-hubbed variety where three distinct hub impressions contributed overlapping design elements. The 1946-S issue represents the final year of Adolph A. Weinman's iconic Walking Liberty Half Dollar, replaced by the Franklin Half Dollar in 1948 — making any variety from this terminal date historically significant. Die markers confirm the specific die pair: the obverse shows northeast-southwest die scratches on both sides and inside the 6 in the date, while the reverse carries a die scratch running southeast from the right center of the R in AMERICA to the I. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID 1946-S 50 cent WDDR-001, this variety rewards careful examination of the rim lettering and pine branch details where the centripetal spread and tripling are most pronounced.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Kevin Flynn Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1946-S 50¢ WDDR-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References