1939-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-003

Description

Light spread on the date combined with minor extra thickness on LIBERTY and the ribbon edge identifies this 1939-S Washington Quarter as DDO-003 in the VarietyVista catalog, with die markers UVC-0112 and DMR-004. The reverse die is paired as RPM-001, making this a combined doubled die and repunched mintmark on the same coin — a detail of particular interest to specialists. Three obverse die stages are recognized. Stage A is early die state (unconfirmed). Stage B is mid-die state (unconfirmed). Stage C is late die state and carries four distinct die cracks: across the upper hair and forehead; along the bust over the designer's initials; through RIBUS of PLURIBUS continuing to the E of AMERICA; and descending the eagle's right wing to the leaf above the Q of QUARTER. The Stage C cracks span both faces and provide a clear chronological marker for late-state examples. Washington quarters of this date were struck in 90% silver at San Francisco, and the DDO plus RPM pairing elevates this listing above a standard single-feature variety in the 1939-S attribution record.

Die Markers

• UVC-0112
• DMR-004
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Die crack across upper hair and forehead – LDS
• Die crack along bust over designer's initials
• Die crack through RIBUS of PLURIBUS to E of AMERICA – LDS
• Die crack down eagle's Right wing to leaf above Q of QUARTER

Attribution History

• Discovered by Michael L. Ellis
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References