1957 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-006

Description

Sixth in the reverse doubled die census for the 1957 Washington silver quarter, DDR-006 displays light spread on both olive and oak branch stems and the lower letters of UNITED on John Flanagan's heraldic eagle reverse. This variety was struck as a proof at the Philadelphia Mint, where all proof Washington quarters of this era were produced using specially polished dies and planchets. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-0896 and DMR-010, documenting three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed); Stage B at mid die state, where a small die gouge dot appears on the last A of AMERICA and the obverse has also progressed to MDS; and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The die gouge dot on the final A of AMERICA in Stage B provides a valuable secondary diagnostic that allows collectors to determine die state independent of the doubling itself — specimens showing the gouge have progressed beyond the earliest impressions from this die. The 90% silver composition of 1957 proof quarters, combined with the meticulous proof production process, means surviving specimens typically exhibit excellent surface preservation that aids in detecting light spread varieties. Proof dies generally produced fewer impressions than business strike dies, potentially limiting the population of DDR-006 specimens compared to circulation-strike doubled dies. The dual diagnostic zones — stems and lower UNITED — provide two independent areas for confirming the attribution, and collectors should examine both regions under 15-20x magnification with angled lighting to resolve the secondary hub impression against the primary design.

Die Markers

• UVC-0896
• DMR-010
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Small die gouge dot on last A of AMERICA – MDS
• Obverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References