2004 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-004

Description

Medium spread on the upper outer nostril of the Wisconsin State Quarter reverse distinguishes DDR-004, a doubled die variety cataloged by VarietyVista under UVC-1781 and DMR-005. Die staging documents three states: Stage A shows the reverse in Early Die State with a die chip developing at the front base of the bust tip at Early-to-Mid Die State, Stage B at Mid Die State remains unconfirmed, and Stage C at Late Die State awaits verification. Wisconsin's entry into the fifty-state quarter program in 2004 produced a reverse design featuring a cow's head, a wheel of cheese, and an ear of corn — agricultural emblems of America's Dairyland — and it was this reverse that generated one of the program's most famous variety controversies when "extra leaf" varieties attracted national media attention. DDR-004's nostril spread represents a more conventional hub doubling variety, where misalignment during die manufacture created secondary outlines in the bovine portrait's facial features. The die chip at the front base of the bust tip at Early-to-Mid Die State provides a progression marker that helps date individual specimens within the die's production sequence. State Quarter varieties commanded exceptional collector interest throughout the program's 1999-2008 run because the annually changing reverse designs meant variety hunters needed to work through each state's output systematically. The unconfirmed Mid and Late Die States for DDR-004 represent open research opportunities where examination of additional specimens could expand the documented die life record.

Die Markers

• UVC-1781
• DMR-005
• Stage A:
• Reverse is EDS
• Die chip at front base of bust tip – EMDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Charles Fantasia
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References