1948 Washington Quarter - Doubled Die Obverse DDO-006

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die markers UVC-0669 and DMR-007, the 1948 Washington Silver Quarter DDO-006 exhibits medium spread on the date and the letters RTY of LIBERTY — a partial-word doubling pattern where the three rightmost letters of LIBERTY show detectable offset while the first four letters (LIBE) remain below the visibility threshold. Three die stages are identified: Stage A is early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B is mid-die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C is late die state showing a die crack across Washington's forehead and hair and another die crack down the eagle's right wing on the reverse. The selective doubling on RTY rather than the full LIBERTY inscription maps the hub displacement vector: the offset increased from left to right across the word, reaching the visibility threshold only at the R position and growing through T and Y. This progressive pattern is diagnostic of a Class V pivoted hub doubling or a hub shift that produced minimal displacement at the left side of LIBERTY and maximum displacement at the right. The dual die cracks in Stage C — one traversing the obverse portrait and one running down the reverse eagle's wing — document advanced terminal deterioration on both dies in this pair. The 1948 Washington Quarter was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 90% silver and 10% copper at 6.25 grams and 24.3 mm diameter, with a mintage of 35,196,000. The medium spread on RTY is best examined under 7x magnification at the vertical strokes of these three letters.

Die Markers

• UVC-0669
• DMR-007
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Die crack across forehead and hair – LDS
• Die crack down eagle's Right wing – LDS

External References