1956 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-005

Description

A proof-only doubled die reverse on the 1956 Washington quarter, DDR-005 exhibits light doubling concentrated on the right wreath stem and adjacent wreath leaves. Because this variety appears exclusively on proof strikes from the San Francisco Mint, it originated from a working die reserved for the annual proof sets — the controlled striking environment of proof production making such subtle hub misalignments more readily detectable than they would be on business strikes. The obverse die paired with this reverse is separately listed as DDO-008, meaning collectors encountering this coin may find doubled die diagnostics on both sides. Reported by Lee Hiemke, a prolific contributor to the Washington quarter doubled die census. The 1956 proof quarter saw a mintage of 669,384 pieces across all proof sets that year, though the fraction struck from this specific die pair is unknown. Collectors examining proof Washington quarters from this era should inspect the wreath stems carefully under magnification, as the light doubling can be mistaken for strike artifacts on lesser-quality examples. Cross-referenced in the Wiles catalog of Washington quarter doubled dies.

External References