1955 Proof Washington Quarter - Doubled Die Reverse DDR-005

Description

Fifth reverse doubled die cataloged for the 1955 Washington silver quarter proof, DDR-005 displays medium extra thickness on UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and the eagle's plume on John Flanagan's heraldic eagle reverse. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-0854 and DMR-009, documenting three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C featuring a distinctive vertical die gouge on the shafts behind the arrow points at late die state with the obverse also at LDS. The Stage C die gouge provides a valuable late-state diagnostic — its position on the arrow shafts behind the points places it in a high-detail area where the incuse feature in the die would be clearly visible as a raised line on struck coins. The proof designation indicates this die was used in San Francisco's proof coin production, where polished dies and carefully prepared planchets created coins with mirror-like fields and frosted design elements. The 1955 proof set mintage was approximately 378,200, a small fraction of the business strike production and one that used dedicated proof dies manufactured to higher standards than circulation strike dies. The extra thickness classification for the doubling — rather than spread or separation — indicates the hub displacement was extremely close, producing broadened letter and design strokes that appear heavier than normal rather than showing distinctly separated secondary images. Examination requires careful attention to the eagle's plume detail at 15-20x magnification, where the feather barbs' fine lines most clearly reveal the thickened impression that characterizes medium extra thickness doubling.

Die Markers

• UVC-0854
• DMR-009
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Vertical die gouge on shafts behind arrow points – LDS
• Obverse is LDS

External References