1918-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-001

Description

Carrying the primary DDR designation for the 1918-S Buffalo nickel, DDR-001 shows extra thickness on all outer lettering of James Earle Fraser's reverse — encompassing UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and FIVE CENTS in a comprehensive hub doubling event that affected the entire inscription periphery. VarietyVista documented this variety under identifiers UVC-042 and DMR-002, recording three die stages all currently unconfirmed: Stage A at early die state, Stage B at mid die state, and Stage C at late die state. The cataloger's comment notes a need to see a specimen for digital photographs and die state information, indicating this variety awaits more complete documentation from examination of physical coins. San Francisco struck approximately 4.88 million Buffalo nickels in 1918, a lower mintage that makes S-mint Buffalo nickels of this era generally scarcer than their Philadelphia counterparts. Fraser's iconic design — a composite Native American portrait on the obverse and a standing bison (Black Diamond, from the Central Park Zoo) on the reverse — features deeply sculpted relief that makes the lettering particularly susceptible to showing extra thickness from hub doubling. As DDR-001, this represents the most significant reverse doubled die documented for the 1918-S date, and the comprehensive spread across all outer lettering suggests a substantial hub displacement rather than a localized distortion. The absence of confirmed die state information presents an opportunity for collectors who locate specimens to contribute die state photography that would advance the catalog. Examination should focus on any inscription letter under 10-15x magnification, where extra thickness from hub doubling manifests as widened strokes and thickened serifs compared to a confirmed normal 1918-S example — the E of E PLURIBUS and the F of FIVE CENTS are good starting points due to their fine serif detail.

Die Markers

• UVC-042
• DMR-002
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Unknown
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References