1945 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-003

Description

Medium spread on STATES OF and E PLURIBUS UNUM distinguishes this third documented doubled die reverse for the 1945 Philadelphia Mint Washington Silver Quarter. VarietyVista catalogs it under UVC-0538 with DMR-023, and three die stages have been identified: Stage A in Early Die State (unconfirmed), Stage B where reverse and obverse reach Mid Die State, and Stage C in Late Die State (unconfirmed). The 1945 Washington Quarter was among the final wartime issues — World War II ended in September of that year, and the quarter's 90% silver composition continued uninterrupted throughout the conflict. Philadelphia produced over 74.3 million quarters in 1945, a substantial figure driven by wartime economic activity and the ongoing need for circulating coinage. The medium spread on the reverse lettering indicates a more noticeable hubbing misalignment than the light or very light spreads seen on other Washington Quarter DDR varieties, making DDR-003 potentially more visible to the unaided eye. John Flanagan's heraldic eagle reverse, with its detailed arrangement of E PLURIBUS UNUM on a banner beneath the eagle and STATES OF arcing above, provides lettering at multiple orientations that can reveal doubling from various directions of spread. Three documented DDR varieties for 1945 represents moderate coverage for a high-mintage wartime date.

Die Markers

• UVC-0538
• DMR-023
• 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