1963-D Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-004

Description

Carrying an editorial history that reflects the evolving nature of variety attribution, WDDR-004 for the 1963-D Jefferson nickel was formerly listed as 1963-D WDDR-015 before being reassigned to replace the original WDDR-004 listing, which was delisted for being too minor to warrant catalog space. Attributed by Brian A. Ribar, this Class II distorted hub doubling produces a close spread on OF AMERICA, where the secondary image hugs the primary letters tightly enough that the doubling reads as thickened strokes rather than widely separated duplicates. No obverse die markers were noted for this die pair. The reverse carries two diagnostics: a combined die scratch and dent above the right porch of Monticello, and a die scratch to the upper left of the M in MONTICELLO. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 1963-D WDDR-004, this variety originated at the Denver Mint, which struck 276,829,460 Jefferson nickels in 1963 — a substantial output that required extensive die rotation and created the statistical conditions for hub misalignment varieties to emerge. The renumbering from WDDR-015 to WDDR-004 illustrates a common practice in variety attribution: as the field matures and minor listings are culled, more significant varieties are sometimes promoted to vacated catalog numbers to maintain a more compact and meaningful reference sequence. Felix Schlag's Monticello reverse, with its detailed architectural rendering including windows, columns, and the distinctive dome, provides the fine-detail substrate where close Class II spreads on the OF AMERICA inscription become detectable under moderate magnification.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian A. Ribar
• Wexler Variety ID: 1963-D WDDR-004
• Expert attribution by Brian A. Ribar

External References