1940-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-005

Description

Toward-center spread on the date characterizes WDDO-005 for the 1940-S Mercury dime, a Class II distorted hub doubling event on Adolph A. Weinman's iconic Winged Liberty Head design. The toward-center spread direction — where the secondary impression contracts inward relative to the primary — is characteristic of Class II doubling caused by hub distortion under pressure during die manufacture, rather than the uniform directional shifts produced by Class I rotated hub mechanisms. San Francisco struck approximately 21.56 million Mercury dimes in 1940, a modest mintage that reflects the S-mint's consistently lower production volumes compared to Philadelphia and Denver for this denomination. The obverse die carries a diagnostic die gouge running through the bottom of the E in WE (part of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, abbreviated as WE TRUST on the Mercury dime design), while the reverse provides a complementary marker: a small die gouge below the I in AMERICA. These paired die gouges — one on each side of the coin — provide independent confirmation checkpoints that together establish the die marriage with confidence. The Wexler Team cataloged this variety under Wexler Variety ID: 1940-S 10¢ WDDO-005, with no additional cross-references from CONECA or other services. Weinman's Mercury dime design (1916-1945) placed the date at the lower right of the obverse below the wing of Liberty's cap, where toward-center doubling would manifest as a slightly compressed secondary impression that makes the date numerals appear thicker without clearly separated double images. Collectors should first identify the die gouge through the E in WE and the gouge below I in AMERICA to confirm the die pair, then examine the date numerals at 15-20x magnification for the inward contraction of the secondary impression.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1940-S 10¢ WDDO-005
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References