2015 (P) Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Quarter - Doubled Die Reverse VDDR-023

Description

VarietyVista's VDDR-023 for the 2015 America the Beautiful Quarter records a light spread directed South, visible as extra blades of grass above the right end of the middle grass strip. The die stage tracking assigns provisional codes (UVC-???? and DMR-0??), with three stages identified: Stage A shows the reverse at early die state and the obverse at mid die state — an asymmetric staging that suggests the obverse die had already seen some service when it was paired with a fresher reverse die. Stage B is at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The southward spread direction means the secondary hub impression shifted downward, creating ghost grass blades below and slightly overlapping the primary blades — a diagnostic that requires careful examination because the organic, irregular geometry of grass can mask subtle displacement among the naturally varied blade angles. Light spread intensity means this variety sits at the lower end of the visibility spectrum, likely requiring 10x or greater magnification for confident detection. The asymmetric die staging between obverse and reverse at Stage A is noteworthy from a die manufacturing perspective: it implies the dies were not manufactured simultaneously or were not put into service at the same time, resulting in different wear profiles when paired together. Within the ATB program's extensive DDR catalog, grass-strip varieties constitute a significant subcategory, and the distinction between upper, middle, and lower grass strips provides the positional specificity needed to differentiate among multiple light-spread varieties that might otherwise appear similar.

Die Markers

• UVC-????
• DMR-0??
• Stage
• A:
• Reverse is EDS
• Obverse is MDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References