1930 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-005

Description

Fifth doubled die reverse for the 1930 Buffalo Nickel, this VarietyVista-cataloged variety exhibits medium spread directed westward on the FIVE CENTS denomination on the reverse — James Earle Fraser's iconic design featuring a mound or hill beneath the American bison. Die classification codes UVC-253 and DMR-012 identify this variety within VarietyVista's systematic framework, and three die stages have been tracked. Stage A at early die state and Stage C at late die state remain unconfirmed, while Stage B has been verified with both the reverse and obverse at mid-die-state. The westward direction of the spread indicates a lateral shift during hubbing that displaced the denomination text toward the coin's left side when viewed from the reverse. The 1930 Philadelphia Mint Buffalo Nickel was struck during the onset of the Great Depression, when economic contraction was beginning to affect Mint production volumes — the 1930-P mintage of approximately 22.8 million was significantly lower than the 36.4 million produced the previous year. Fraser's Buffalo Nickel design, in service since 1913, was approaching its final years by 1930 — the series would end in 1938 when replaced by Felix Schlag's Jefferson Nickel. The Buffalo Nickel's high-relief design was notoriously hard on dies, with the raised mound beneath the bison and the detailed portrait of a composite Native American chief on the obverse creating significant die stress. Five doubled die reverses for 1930 reflects dedicated research into a pre-war date that combines Depression-era historical context with the design's inherent susceptibility to hubbing anomalies.

Die Markers

• UVC-253
• DMR-012
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lewis Fletcher
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References