2005 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-003

Description

Third in the obverse doubled die census for the 2005 Jefferson nickel Westward Journey series, DDO-003 shows light spread across multiple design elements: IN GOD WE TRUST, the ERTY of LIBERTY, the mintmark, and the date on Joe Fitzgerald's obverse portrait that replaced Felix Schlag's original design for the two-year Westward Journey program commemorating the Lewis and Clark expedition. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-1555 and DMR-005, documenting three die stages: Stage A where both obverse and reverse surfaces exhibit early die state characteristics, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The comments identify this as an "SMS" (Special Mint Set) specimen that can be found in Westward Journey nickel sets — the satin-finish coins produced for collectors that featured the burnished-blank, treated-die production process distinct from both proof and standard business strikes. The Westward Journey program (2004-2005) departed radically from Schlag's original 1938 design, with 2005 featuring a forward-facing "American Bison" reverse by Jamie Franki and an "Ocean in View" reverse by Joe Fitzgerald across two design releases. Light spread affecting four distinct design areas — motto, partial LIBERTY, mintmark, and date — indicates a hub misalignment that displaced the secondary impression across a wide zone of the obverse, though the light classification means the doubling requires careful examination under magnification to distinguish from normal striking characteristics. The SMS satin finish provides surfaces with more visual texture than proof mirrors, making light doubling potentially harder to detect than on proof specimens but still confirmable under proper lighting conditions.

Die Markers

• UVC-1555
• DMR-005
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Kenneth Russell
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References