1919 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-002

Description

Close Class II distorted hub doubling directed toward the center shows on USA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and slightly on FIVE CENTS, with the strongest expression on OF and the adjacent dots on this 1919 Buffalo Nickel reverse. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID 1919 5 cents WDDR-002, the Class II mechanism involves a distortion in the hub itself, producing a spread that radiates from a central pivot point rather than shifting in a single direction. Die markers confirm the attribution: the obverse shows a die clash at the throat, a short northwest-southeast die crack through the hair at the top of the head, and north-south die scratches at the throat, while the reverse exhibits a die clash visible through E PLURIBUS UNUM. The die clash marks on both sides indicate this die pair experienced at least one event where the dies came together without a planchet between them, transferring design elements from one die to the other. The 1919 Philadelphia Buffalo Nickel was struck during the post-World War I period, when James Earle Fraser's bold Native American and bison design was in its seventh year of production. The convergence of Class II doubling, die clashes, and die cracks on this single die pair tells a complex production story of a die that experienced multiple forms of stress and damage during its working life.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Keith Christenson Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1919 5¢ WDDR-002
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References