1960-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-018

Description

Brian A. Ribar attributed this 1960-D Jefferson Nickel variety as WDDR-018, classifying it as Class VI, Distended Hub Doubling — a less commonly encountered class where the working hub physically expanded or "distended" during the hubbing process, producing a secondary impression that is uniformly larger than the primary design rather than simply shifted in one direction. The very nice Class VI doubling manifests on E PLURIBUS UNUM with an increasing spread from left to right, plus a closer spread on AMERICA. The left-to-right intensity gradient on E PLURIBUS UNUM is characteristic of distended hub events where the expansion vector was not perfectly centered: elements closer to the expansion's axis of symmetry show less displacement than those at the periphery. No obverse die markers were noted, but the reverse carries die gouges on the left side of the second O of MONTICELLO and a series of die dots below E and P of E PLURIBUS — small raised dots in the die face that transferred as recessed pits on the coin, serving as reliable authentication points. The 1960-D Jefferson Nickel emerged from a Denver mintage of approximately 192.6 million pieces, a volume that generated enough working dies to populate at least 18 distinct DDR entries. Class VI distended hub varieties are diagnostically distinct from the far more common Class II distorted hub type: while Class II involves non-uniform shape change, Class VI involves a relatively uniform radial expansion, creating a size discrepancy between impressions rather than a directional shift. This subtle distinction requires careful measurement of the doubling pattern across multiple design elements to confirm.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian A. Ribar
• Wexler Variety ID: 1960-D WDDR-018
• Expert attribution by Brian A. Ribar

External References