2008 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-002

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 2008-P 25¢ AK WDDO-002, this Alaska State Quarter exhibits doubling on the underside of Washington's earlobe — a localized but diagnostically specific manifestation of hub doubling concentrated on a single anatomical feature of the portrait. The earlobe's position on the die, combined with its relatively small size and curved geometry, means that even modest hub displacement can produce detectable doubling along its lower contour. Obverse die markers include a die gouge southwest of the mintmark near the queue (ponytail), a small die gouge just to the left of the bottom of the ribbon, a die chip at the top of the designer's initials, and die chips found on the upper hair near the end of LIBERTY — an extensive set of diagnostics that fingerprint this specific obverse die. No significant reverse markers are noted. The 2008 Alaska State Quarter was the final issue in the 50 State Quarters Program (1999-2008), featuring a reverse design by Charles Vickers depicting a grizzly bear catching a salmon against a backdrop of the North Star and the inscription "The Great Land." Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in copper-nickel clad composition (8.33% nickel, 91.67% copper) weighing 5.67 grams with a 24.26 mm diameter, the Alaska quarter marked the conclusion of one of the most successful coin programs in U.S. Mint history. The localized earlobe doubling demonstrates how hub displacement vectors can produce visible effects on some design elements while leaving adjacent features unaffected, depending on local geometry and relief depth at each point on the die face.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Gerald Weakland Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 2008-P 25¢ AK WDDO-002
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References