1956 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-010

Description

Carrying the tenth doubled die reverse designation for the 1956 Washington Quarter, DDR-010 is a proof strike exhibiting light extra thickness on UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and the eagle's plume — the detailed feathering of the heraldic eagle on John Flanagan's reverse design. Timothy Wissert reported this variety. The involvement of the eagle's plume alongside the two primary reverse inscriptions demonstrates that the hub displacement affected both text and pictorial elements of the die, with the feather detail providing an especially sensitive diagnostic surface where even light thickening creates visibly broader individual plume lines compared to a normal proof specimen. The high catalog number (DDR-010) reflects the remarkable concentration of reverse hub doubling events documented on 1956 Washington Quarter dies — ten distinct reverse doubled dies from a single date represents an unusually prolific population, likely resulting from a combination of high die demand and the statistical probability of hub misalignment across a large number of working dies. As a proof coin struck at the Philadelphia Mint on polished planchets with mirror-finish dies, the reflective proof fields amplify even light extra thickness by providing maximum contrast between the raised design elements and the surrounding mirror surfaces. The 1956 proof was available exclusively through annual proof sets and was struck in 90% silver at 6.25 grams, representing one of the final years before clad composition was adopted in 1965. The eagle's plume provides the most efficient diagnostic checkpoint: its fine parallel feather lines show detectable broadening even at the light intensity level when examined under 7x to 10x magnification with raking light.

External References