1938 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-010

Description

Documented by Brian A. Ribar and cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 1938 WDDR-010, this doubled die reverse is a Class II Distorted Hub Doubling variety of the 1938 Philadelphia Jefferson Nickel — the first year of the Jefferson Nickel series. Class II doubling is produced when the hub rocks or pivots slightly between successive impressions during working die manufacture, creating a distorted secondary image rather than a clean offset. On WDDR-010, the doubling is expressed as very close, tight extra thickness on the letters of E PLURIBUS UNUM on the reverse, where the secondary hub impression overlaps nearly but not completely with the primary, producing a subtle but detectable widened or doubled letter profile. Two reverse die markers provide attribution confirmation: a small die gouge to the lower right of the second O in MONTICELLO, and a small die dot within the left arch of the Monticello building facade. This variety is paired with its obverse counterpart WDDO-010 on the same die marriage, meaning examples bearing WDDR-010 will also exhibit the obverse doubling characteristics of WDDO-010. The inaugural 1938 Jefferson Nickel is a series-defining date with strong collector demand at all levels, and the Wexler doubled die listing framework provides the standard reference for systematic variety attribution across the Jefferson series.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian A. Ribar
• Wexler Variety ID: 1938 WDDR-010
• Expert attribution by Brian A. Ribar

External References