1946-D Doubled Die Obverse DDO-019

Description

Nineteenth in the obverse doubled die census for the inaugural year of John R. Sinnock's Roosevelt dime, DDO-019 presents light spread on the letters of LIBERTY — the inscription that runs vertically along the left obverse field. VarietyVista cataloged this variety under die identifiers UVC-719 and DMR-057, documenting three progressive die stages. Stage A represents early die state, though it remains unconfirmed, meaning no verified specimen has been positively identified at that stage. Stage B, confirmed at mid die state, shows numerous die scratches on both the obverse and reverse surfaces — scratch patterns that serve as crucial secondary diagnostics for attributing this specific die pair. Stage C at late die state is also unconfirmed. The additional comment notes the obverse die as ODV-001, a die design variant classification that provides another layer of identification beyond the doubled die characteristics themselves. Denver struck approximately 61.04 million Roosevelt dimes in 1946, the first year of the design introduced to honor President Franklin D. Roosevelt following his death in April 1945. Sinnock's left-facing portrait, with LIBERTY inscribed vertically and IN GOD WE TRUST running horizontally below the portrait, established the basic design vocabulary that has continued on the dime for eight decades. Light spread on LIBERTY means the doubling manifests as slightly thickened letterforms rather than clearly separated secondary images — collectors should examine the vertical strokes and serifs of each letter under 15-20x magnification, comparing stroke widths against confirmed normal dies from the same production year. The numerous die scratches documented at Stage B provide an independent confirmation method: once the scratch pattern is matched, the light doubling on LIBERTY can be verified with confidence.

Die Markers

• UVC-719
• DMR-057
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Numerous die scratches on Obverse – MDS
• Numerous die scratches on Reverse – MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References