1944-D Doubled Die Reverse DDR-004

Description

Very light spread confined to UNITED STATES OF AMERICA characterizes this fourth documented doubled die reverse for the 1944 Denver Mint Washington Silver Quarter. Cataloged by VarietyVista under UVC-0432 with DMR-013, three die stages have been identified: Stage A in Early Die State (unconfirmed), Stage B where reverse and obverse are in Mid Die State, and Stage C in Late Die State (unconfirmed). The 1944-D quarter holds particular historical significance as a wartime issue — the United States Mint maintained full production of silver quarters throughout World War II, unlike nickels which shifted to the copper-silver-manganese "war nickel" alloy. Denver struck over 14.6 million quarters in 1944, each containing 90% silver at a weight of 6.25 grams. The very light spread on the reverse lettering suggests this doubling occurred late in the hubbing process, when the hub and die were nearly fully impressed and only a minor misalignment produced the subtle extra image. John Flanagan's eagle reverse design, with its detailed lettering arrangement of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcing across the top, provides a sensitive target for detecting even slight spread. Washington Quarter DDR varieties from the 1940s are less commonly encountered than their DDO counterparts, making documented examples like DDR-004 noteworthy for series specialists.

Die Markers

• UVC-0432
• DMR-013
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Hiemke
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References