1954 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-001

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die identification codes UVC-0830 and DMR-004, DDR-001 is the primary doubled die reverse variety of the 1954 Proof Washington Quarter — a proof-only issue struck at Philadelphia for collector sets. The doubling manifests as medium extra thickness on the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and on the eagle's head, producing a widened or doubled letter profile where the secondary hub impression closely overlapped the primary during working die manufacture. Proof coinage provides an ideal canvas for detecting subtle doubling, as the highly polished fields and frosted devices of proof strikes make die characteristics more visible than on business-strike surfaces. Die state progression spans three stages: Stage A is early die state (unconfirmed); Stage B is mid die state (unconfirmed); Stage C is late die state, confirmed, and is marked by a die gouge under the right leg of the first R in QUARTER, with the obverse also in LDS condition. The Stage C die gouge under the first R of QUARTER is therefore the most reliably confirmed die marker for this variety and serves as the primary field-identification point for late-state specimens. The proof context of DDR-001 means that all examples were carefully struck on polished planchets and are more likely to have been preserved in high grades than business-strike counterparts. Collectors of proof Washington Quarter varieties will find DDR-001 a natural acquisition target within the mid-1950s proof set sequence.

Die Markers

• UVC-0830
• DMR-004
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Die gouge under the Right leg of the first R of QUARTER – LDS
• Obverse is LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Delma K. Romines
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References