1944 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-026

Description

Medium spread on ERTY of LIBERTY and the ribbon end below Washington's portrait identifies this twenty-sixth documented doubled die obverse for the 1944 Philadelphia Mint Washington Silver Quarter. VarietyVista records it under UVC-0402 with DMR-027, with three die stages documented: Stage A in Early Die State (unconfirmed), Stage B in Mid Die State (unconfirmed), and Stage C where both obverse — noted as "Obverse and Obverse are LDS" in the original catalog, likely a transcription indicating confirmed Late Die State on the obverse. The spread concentrated on the ERTY portion of LIBERTY and the ribbon end suggests the hub shift direction was aligned to affect the right side of the LIBERTY inscription and the adjacent design elements below it. Twenty-six documented doubled die obverses for a single date and mint represents extraordinary variety density, making the 1944 Washington Quarter one of the most prolifically studied dates for obverse doubling in the series. The 1944-P quarter was struck in 90% silver during World War II, and Philadelphia's output of over 104 million quarters that year created the large die population necessary to generate such variety diversity. John Flanagan's Washington portrait, with its detailed hair curls and the LIBERTY inscription following the head's contour, provides sensitive diagnostic areas where even moderate hub shifts produce identifiable doubling.

Die Markers

• UVC-0402
• DMR-027
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Obverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Hiemke
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References