1949-D Variety WMDO-001

Description

Designated CONECA MD-1-O-II and Wexler WMDO-001, this 1949-D Washington quarter represents a doubled master die variety, a fundamentally different category from a working die doubled die. Because the doubling originated at the master die level, every working die produced from that master carried the same doubled characteristics, meaning all 1949-dated Washington quarters from all three mints (Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco) exhibit the same doubling. A spread directed toward the center of the die is visible on IN, the TR in TRUST, and the BER in LIBERTY. The die markers listed as "will vary on each working die" for both obverse and reverse reflect this master die origin: since multiple working dies were made from the doubled master, each individual working die carries its own unique scratches and gouges, but the underlying doubling pattern remains constant across all of them. The critical collector implication is that no premium value attaches to the doubling itself, as it is ubiquitous across the entire 1949 production run rather than confined to a single die pair. The 1949-D had a mintage of 10.068 million quarters from the Denver Mint. CONECA's classification as MD-1-O-II identifies this as the first documented master die doubling for the obverse in Class II configuration.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: CONECA: MD-1-O-II Comments: Because this is a doubled master die, all 1949 dated Washington quarters will have this doubling so there is no premium value for the doubling.
• CONECA: MD-1-O-II Comments: Because this is a doubled master die, all 1949 dated Washington quarters will have this doubling so there is no premium value for the doubling.; Wexler Variety ID: 1949-D 25¢ WMDO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References