1945 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-011

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID 1945 25c WDDO-011 with no other known cross-references, this 1945 Philadelphia Mint Washington Silver Quarter shows a counterclockwise spread from a pivot point at approximately the 9 o'clock position, visible on LIBERTY, the date, and the bottom of the ribbon on Washington's portrait. This rotational doubling resulted from the hub being slightly rotated between impressions during the die-making process, with the pivot occurring near the left side of the design and the greatest separation appearing on elements farthest from that pivot — primarily the lettering and date on the right side. Obverse die markers include a die gouge to the right of the bottom of the second T in TRUST and a die scratch running northwest from the top of the E in WE. The reverse shows a die crack running down both the eagle's left and right wings, indicating progressive die deterioration. The 1945 Washington Quarter was struck during the final year of World War II on 90% silver planchets, the standard composition that would continue until the Coinage Act of 1965 ended silver in circulating coinage. John Flanagan's Washington portrait, based on Jean-Antoine Houdon's famous bust, features fine detail in the hair ribbon and lettering where rotational doubling becomes diagnostically visible. Eleven documented doubled die obverses for the 1945 date reflects the substantial Philadelphia production volume during the wartime era, when military and civilian demand for coinage remained high.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Whaden Curtis Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1945 25¢ WDDO-011
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References