1939 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-007

Description

Seventh in the reverse doubled die census for the 1939 Jefferson nickel — only the second year of production for Felix Schlag's design — DDR-007 shows light spread on E PLURIBUS UNUM with rotation on AMERICA and UNUM. The rotational component is diagnostically significant: while simple spread produces parallel displacement in a single direction, rotation indicates the hub pivoted during the secondary impression, creating progressively increasing displacement as the distance from the rotation center increases. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-620 and DMR-016, documenting three die stages: Stage A where both obverse and reverse surfaces exhibit early die state; Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed); and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). A key attribution note identifies this reverse as RDV-002 (Straight Steps), referring to the specific Reverse Design Variant used for the Monticello architectural steps. Early Jefferson nickel production employed multiple reverse design variants that differ in the rendering of the Monticello stairway — the straight steps variant shows the stairs with more geometric, linear edges compared to other variants. Philadelphia struck approximately 120.6 million nickels in 1939, a substantial increase from the inaugural 1938 production as the new design settled into regular coinage operations. The combination of rotational doubling on AMERICA and UNUM with the straight steps reverse variant provides multiple attribution checkpoints. Collectors should examine E PLURIBUS UNUM and AMERICA under 15x magnification, looking for the characteristic progressive displacement that increases toward the periphery — a hallmark of rotational hub doubling.

Die Markers

• UVC-620
• DMR-016
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References