1940 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-006

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista as DDO-006, this 1940 Washington Quarter displays light spread on LIBERTY, one of the design elements most susceptible to doubling on John Flanagan's obverse portrait introduced in 1932. The 1940 Philadelphia issue was struck during the Depression Era, when Washington Quarter production was recovering from the extremely low mintages of the mid-1930s. This variety is tracked under codes UVC-0120 and DMR-008 with three recognized die stages. Stage A is cataloged as early die state, though unconfirmed. Stage B at mid-die-state shows several die gouges through the eye on the obverse and a die crack running down the eagle's right wing on the reverse, both reliable diagnostics. Stage C represents the late die state, also currently unconfirmed. The progression from early through late die state illustrates how working dies deteriorate during production, accumulating cracks, gouges, and other markers that help specialists track individual dies. Washington Quarter doubled dies from the pre-war era remain underappreciated despite their scarcity in higher grades.

Die Markers

• UVC-0120
• DMR-008
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Several die gouges through eye – MDS
• Die crack down eagle's Right wing – MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Hiemke
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References