1936 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-005

Description

Fifth in the sequence of documented obverse doubled dies for the 1936 Philadelphia Mercury dime, DDO-005 shows light spread on the date numerals. Philadelphia's 1936 production of approximately 87.5 million Mercury dimes contributed to one of the higher-mintage years in the series, following the Depression-era lows of the early 1930s. The VarietyVista system cross-references this as 5-O-II-C — fifth obverse variety, Class II pivoted or rotational hub doubling, subtype C — with die tracking as UVC-251 and die marriage DMR-008. Five documented DDOs for a single date reflects the active collector base examining Mercury dimes from the 1930s, when Weinman's elegant Liberty-head design was in its third decade of production. Light spread limited to the date follows the pattern common among Mercury dime doubled dies, where the date's peripheral position on the obverse makes it the most sensitive detector of rotational hub offsets. The 1936 date holds particular significance in American numismatics as the year the proof set program restarted after a multi-year hiatus, though DDO-005 is documented as a business strike variety from Philadelphia's standard production run. Examination requires comparison of the date digit edge profiles against confirmed undoubled specimens to verify the light spread.

Die Markers

• UVC-251, DMR-008

Attribution History

• 5-O-II-C

External References