1943-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-009

Description

Medium spread on LIBERTY producing a three-quarter-height vertical bar between the original and doubled impressions identifies this ninth documented doubled die obverse for the 1943 San Francisco Mint Washington Silver Quarter. The 3/4 vertical bar descriptor indicates the doubled image is offset enough to create a distinct secondary vertical stroke that spans approximately three-quarters of the letter height — a diagnostic feature that helps distinguish DDO-009 from the other eight documented DDOs for this date. VarietyVista catalogs the variety under UVC-0359 with DMR-010, tracking three die stages: Stage A in Early Die State (unconfirmed), Stage B where obverse and reverse are in Mid Die State, and Stage C in Late Die State (unconfirmed). The 1943-S quarter was a wartime issue struck in 90% silver during the height of World War II, when San Francisco's role as a branch mint supporting Pacific theater operations gave its coinage particular logistical importance. San Francisco produced over 21.7 million quarters in 1943. Nine documented doubled die obverses for a single date and mint represents significant variety density, and the LIBERTY inscription on John Flanagan's Washington portrait has proven to be the most sensitive area for detecting obverse doubling on Washington Quarters.

Die Markers

• UVC-0359
• DMR-010
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Hiemke
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References