1930 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-007

Description

Seventh in the reverse doubled die census for the 1930 Buffalo nickel, WDDR-007 presents Class IV spread toward the west on the IV of FIVE, the NTS of CENTS, and slightly on some letters of EPU (E PLURIBUS UNUM). Class IV in the Wexler doubled die classification system describes offset hub doubling where the secondary impression shifts in a single direction relative to the primary — in this case westward, producing spread that displaces the affected elements to the left. James Earle Fraser's reverse design, featuring a standing American bison on a mound above FIVE CENTS and E PLURIBUS UNUM, places the denomination and motto in close proximity, making both susceptible to the same hub misalignment event. Philadelphia produced approximately 22.8 million Buffalo nickels in 1930, two years before the series' end in 1938. The Wexler Team assigned Wexler Variety ID: 1930 5¢ WDDR-007, with no other known cross-references and no significant die markers on either surface. The partial word coverage — IV of FIVE and NTS of CENTS rather than the complete words — provides distinctive attribution evidence, as the boundary between affected and unaffected letters reveals where the hub displacement transitioned from detectable to negligible. The slight involvement of EPU letters confirms the westward spread extended upward on the die but with diminishing intensity. Seven reverse doubled dies for the 1930 Buffalo nickel, combined with at least eight obverse doubled dies (WDDO-008), demonstrate that this moderately scarce date has been thoroughly scrutinized by the die variety community despite its position in the series' final decade.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Dennis Paulsen Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1930 5¢ WDDR-007
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References