1929 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-002

Description

Tracked under VarietyVista codes UVC-087 and DMR-003, the second doubled die reverse for the 1929 Buffalo Nickel features a medium spread on all outer lettering around the rim plus east-west spread on E PLURIBUS UNUM — a comprehensive doubling pattern that affects multiple design elements across James Earle Fraser's famous bison reverse. The breadth of this doubling, encompassing peripheral legends as well as the central motto, suggests a rotational component to the hub misalignment that created offset impressions across the entire reverse die face. Three die stages are cataloged: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid-die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C where both reverse and obverse reach late die state. The cataloger's note that a specimen is needed for digital photographs and die state information indicates this variety is documented from limited material, reflecting the scarcity challenges inherent in Buffalo Nickel variety research — a series where the Type II design's recessed date wore rapidly in circulation, and surviving high-grade examples are proportionally rare. Fraser's Buffalo Nickel design, struck from 1913 through 1938, is among the most artistically acclaimed American coin designs, and die varieties on this series attract specialists who appreciate both the aesthetic qualities and the manufacturing history these varieties document. The 1929 issue was produced at Philadelphia in moderate quantities during a year that saw the stock market crash in October, an event that would reshape American economic life. Medium spread across all rim lettering provides variety hunters with multiple diagnostic points for attribution, though confirmation against the specific DMR-003 die markers remains essential.

Die Markers

• UVC-087
• DMR-003
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Reverse and Obverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Ron Pope
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References