1942-D Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-003

Description

Very close Class II spread towards the center on the date characterizes WDDO-003, a doubled die obverse on the 1942 Denver Mercury Dime — the final year of Adolph A. Weinman's celebrated Winged Liberty Head design before it was replaced by Roosevelt's portrait in 1946. Detailed die markers aid attribution: the obverse shows circular die scratches throughout the head and a die scratch running WNW to ESE inside the upper R of LIBERTY. The reverse carries no significant markers. Thomas McGowan submitted this variety for attribution, contributing to the community-driven discovery process. The Class II designation indicates distorted hub doubling, where the hub flexed during the impression, producing a spread that increases away from the center of distortion — in this case, the centripetal spread on the date digits narrows toward the design center. Denver struck approximately 60.7 million dimes in 1942, the final full year of Mercury Dime production at that facility. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID: 1942-D 10¢ WDDO-003 with no other known cross-references, this variety was attributed by the Wexler Team and represents a late-series Mercury Dime DDO from the design's penultimate year.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Bill Fivaz Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1942-D 10¢ WDDO-003
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References