1939 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

Philadelphia's second documented obverse doubled die for the 1939 Mercury dime, DDO-002 presents light spread limited to the date digits on Adolph Weinman's Winged Liberty Head design. The 1939 Philadelphia mintage of approximately 67.7 million dimes provided ample production volume for multiple doubled dies to emerge from the die manufacturing process. Cross-referenced as 2-O-II-C in the VarietyVista system — second obverse variety, Class II pivoted doubling, subtype C — and tracked as UVC-097 with die marriage DMR-004. The Class II pivoted doubling mechanism explains why the date shows spread while other obverse elements do not: when the hub rotates slightly between impressions, the degree of displacement varies by location, and elements near the rotation axis remain virtually undisturbed while those farther away accumulate visible offset. On the Mercury dime obverse, the date occupies a peripheral position that makes it susceptible to capturing rotational spread even when the pivot center lies relatively close. Distinguishing DDO-002 from DDO-001 (cross-referenced as 1-O-II-C) requires comparing the specific character of the date spread — direction, magnitude, and which digits show the strongest effect — since both varieties affect the same design element but originate from different dies with different misalignment parameters.

Die Markers

• UVC-097, DMR-004

Attribution History

• 2-O-II-C

External References