1936-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-001

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with catalog codes UVC-0057 and DMR-003, this 1936-S Washington Silver Quarter DDR-001 — the first cataloged doubled die reverse for the date-mint combination — displays light spread on QUARTER DOLLAR, UNITED, and AMERICA. The light spread affects three separate inscription zones across the reverse, indicating a hub displacement that, while producing only subtle separation at each individual letter, was sufficiently consistent in direction to create measurable doubling across widely separated elements. Three documented die stages record this working die's progression: Stage A at early die state (EDS, unconfirmed), Stage B at mid-die-state (MDS) identified by a die crack running down the eagle's right wing and a light die crack on the wing beneath AME of AMERICA, with the obverse also at MDS, and Stage C at late die state (LDS, unconfirmed). The Stage B die cracks on the eagle's wing represent structural failure in the high-relief area of the heraldic eagle design, where the wing's elevated surfaces create stress concentration points during repeated striking. The 1936-S Washington Quarter was struck at the San Francisco Mint in 90% silver composition weighing 6.25 grams with a diameter of 24.3 mm. John Flanagan designed the obverse George Washington portrait and heraldic eagle reverse, introduced in 1932. The 1936-S had a relatively low mintage of approximately 3.8 million pieces, making it one of the scarcer pre-war Washington Quarter dates. As DDR-001 — holding the primary catalog position for doubled die reverses on this date — this variety represents the earliest documented or most significant hub doubling among 1936-S quarters, a distinction that makes it the first variety sought by collectors systematically working through San Francisco Washington Quarter doubled dies.

Die Markers

• UVC-0057
• DMR-003
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Die crack down eagle's Right wing – MDS
• Light die crack on wing under AME of AMERICA
• Obverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Hiemke
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References