1954-S Variety WMHO-001

Description

Closing the book on WMHO-001, the 1954-S Washington Quarter is the last of twelve date-and-mint combinations to carry this master hub doubling — four years times three mints, each showing the same moderate clockwise spread from a pivot near 3:00 on IN GOD WE TRUST. The Wexler Team catalogs this as 1954-S 25-cent WMHO-001, with CONECA classifying it as SD-4-O-V. San Francisco`s role in 1954 quarter production gave collectors the final S-mint example of a variety that spanned the entire 1951-1954 period. Master hub doubling occupies a unique position in variety classification: it is neither as rare as a single doubled die nor as common as a normal coin, because the displacement affects the entire downstream die production from one master tool. After 1954, the Mint retired this hub, and the WMHO-001 doubling disappeared from subsequent Washington Quarter production. The S-mint`s traditionally lower output compared to Philadelphia and Denver makes this the scarcest facility among the 1954-dated WMHO-001 specimens. Collectors assembling a complete twelve-piece WMHO-001 set often find this final San Francisco entry to be among the more elusive acquisitions.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: CONECA: SD-4-O-V Comments: Because the master hub is designed to be used over a period of several years, this one was used during the period from 1951 through 1954. Consequently most Washington quarters during that period of time will show this doubling. Differences in the appearance of the doubling will be due to wear on the working hubs, wear on the working dies, and wear on the coins themselves.
• CONECA: SD-4-O-V Comments: Because the master hub is designed to be used over a period of several years, this one was used during the period from 1951 through 1954. Consequently most Washington quarters during that period of time will show this doubling. Differences in the appearance of the doubling will be due to wear on the working hubs, wear on the working dies, and wear on the coins themselves.; Wexler Variety ID: 1954-S 25¢ WMHO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References