1957 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-006

Description

Class II distorted hub doubling — where the hub itself warps under pressure during die sinking, creating a non-uniform displacement pattern — defines WDDO-006 for the 1957 Jefferson nickel. The doubling manifests as very close spread on three obverse elements: LIBERTY, the five-pointed star between LIBERTY and the date, and the date itself, though the very close spread classification indicates the primary and secondary impressions nearly overlap. Felix Schlag's Jefferson portrait nickel, by 1957 approaching its twentieth year of production, had settled into a mature manufacturing routine at the Philadelphia Mint, which struck approximately 38.41 million nickels that year. No significant obverse die markers were noted by the Wexler Team, but the reverse carries a diagnostic die dot positioned to the upper right of the long right window of Monticello — Schlag's depiction of Jefferson's Virginia estate that anchored the nickel reverse from 1938 through 2003. Die dots are small raised points on struck coins caused by tiny depressions in the die surface, often resulting from corrosion pits or minute foreign particle impressions. The reverse die dot provides an essential confirmation checkpoint for attributing this variety, as the very close spread doubling on the obverse may be difficult to distinguish from die deterioration or strike characteristics without a secondary marker. Class II doubling produces displacement that varies across the die face rather than maintaining a uniform direction, which explains why the spread appears on inscription elements (LIBERTY), decorative features (the star), and numeric elements (the date) with potentially different apparent directions. Examination at 15-20x magnification should focus on the star and date numerals, where thickened contours reveal the nearly overlapping secondary impression.

Die Markers

• Obverse: None noted.
• Reverse: Die dot to upper right of long right window.

External References