2005 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-065

Description

Attributed by Tony Russo and cataloged as Wexler Variety ID 2005 P WDDR-065 Business Strike Ocean in View, this doubled die reverse was discovered on the 2005 Philadelphia Jefferson Nickel featuring the "Ocean in View" reverse from the Westward Journey series. Tony Russo's attribution adds this variety to the extensive roster of known DDR varieties on the 2005 Ocean in View nickel — a design that generated one of the largest documented populations of doubled die reverse varieties for any single coin design in the modern era. The "Ocean in View! O! The Joy!" inscription, adapted from Captain William Clark's journal entry upon the Lewis and Clark expedition's first sighting of the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 1805, features a distinctive handwriting-inspired lettering style designed by Joe Fitzgerald that differs markedly from the standard block lettering found on most U.S. coins. This calligraphic text style, combined with the detailed coastal landscape imagery of the Pacific shoreline, created abundant diagnostic surfaces susceptible to showing hub displacement. The 2005 Westward Journey nickels represented the final year of the two-year commemorative program celebrating the Lewis and Clark expedition bicentennial, with the "Ocean in View" design joining the "American Bison" reverse as the 2005 pair. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel, 5.000 grams, 21.2 mm), the high mintage of the 2005-P nickel means examples of this variety potentially exist in substantial numbers awaiting discovery by attentive collectors.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Tony Russo
• Unknown; Wexler Variety ID: 2005 P WDDR-065 Business Strike Ocean in View
• Expert attribution by Tony Russo

External References