1952 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-001

Description

Holding the primary DDO catalog position for the 1952 Philadelphia Jefferson Nickel, DDO-001 exhibits light spread on LIBERTY, the five-pointed star, and the date. Die markers UVC-873 and DMR-003 identify this specific working die. The DDO-001 designation indicates this was the first doubled die obverse documented for the date, or the most significant — in either case, it serves as the benchmark variety against which subsequent 1952 DDOs are compared. Felix Schlag's obverse design places LIBERTY vertically along the left field, the star just left of the date, and the date beneath Jefferson's bust, creating a triangular arrangement of diagnostic areas. Light spread across all three suggests a hub misalignment direction that affected the full lower-left obverse quadrant uniformly rather than concentrating doubling on a single feature. The 1952 nickel was struck in standard copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel) at the Philadelphia Mint without a mintmark, standard practice for Philadelphia coinage during this period. Magnification of 5x to 7x with side lighting will best reveal the light doubling.

Die Markers

• UVC-873; DMR-003

External References