1927-D Doubled Die Reverse DDR-001

Description

Light spread behind the lower front legs and chin of the bison characterizes this primary doubled die reverse for the 1927 Denver Mint Buffalo Nickel, attributed by VarietyVista with die markers cataloged under UVC-109 and DMR-004. Three die states are documented, all unconfirmed: Stage A at early die state, Stage B at mid-die state, and Stage C at late die state where both reverse and obverse show late die state characteristics. The doubling behind the bison's front legs and under the chin represents a subtle variety requiring careful magnification to confirm, as these areas involve sculptural detail rather than sharp-edged lettering where doubling is typically more apparent. The Buffalo Nickel design by James Earle Fraser featured one of the highest-relief designs in regular-issue American coinage, and the bison's legs — with their fine muscular detail — were particularly susceptible to showing hub doubling because the complex contours amplified even slight shifts between hub impressions. As DDR-001, this is the primary documented doubled die reverse for the 1927-D date, indicating it is either the most prominent or the first formally attributed. The 1927-D had a mintage of approximately 5.73 million pieces, making it a moderately scarce date in the Buffalo Nickel series — well below the multi-million outputs of Philadelphia but above the key-date status of issues like the 1926-S. Denver's nickel production in 1927 employed Mint practices that were standard for the era, including multi-step hubbing that could introduce the misalignment responsible for doubled die varieties.

Die Markers

• UVC-109
• DMR-004
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Reverse and Obverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Wayne Carson
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References