1942-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-003

Description

Third documented doubled die obverse for the 1942 Denver Mint Washington Silver Quarter, DDO-003 shows a medium spread visible inside the upper portion of the numeral 2 in the date. Cataloged by VarietyVista with die markers UVC-0254 and DMR-005, this variety progresses through three die stages: Stage A with both obverse and reverse in early die state, Stage B in mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C in late die state (unconfirmed). Doubled dies form during the hubbing process when a working die receives successive impressions from the hub with positional misalignment between them, and the medium spread inside the 2 indicates sufficient displacement to be detectable under moderate magnification. The Washington Quarter, designed by John Flanagan and first struck in 1932, was produced in 90% silver through 1964, and the 1942-D issue came from the Denver Mint during the early years of World War II. Denver's quarter production in 1942 was substantial as wartime economic expansion increased the demand for circulating coinage. The DMR-005 die marker reference provides a secondary attribution point — a specific die characteristic unrelated to the doubling itself that helps confirm identification of the particular die pair. Three documented DDOs for the 1942-D quarter reflects the multiple die pairs employed at Denver and the attention that pre-1965 silver Washington Quarters receive from variety collectors seeking doubled dies on these intrinsically valuable coins.

Die Markers

• UVC-0254
• DMR-005
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Elliott
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References