1946 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-007

Description

Seventh doubled die obverse for the 1946 Philadelphia Mint Washington Silver Quarter, WDDO-007 exhibits a very close spread toward the center of the coin, visible on the date, the designer's initials JF (for John Flanagan), and very slightly on the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. The inward directionality of the spread — toward the center rather than outward or laterally — indicates a specific class of hub misalignment where the hub was fractionally rotated or tilted during one of the multiple impressions used to sink the design into the die. The 1946 Washington Quarter was the first postwar issue, struck after the wartime silver-conservation pause in quarter production, with Philadelphia producing 53,436,000 coins in the standard 90% silver composition. Die markers identified by the Wexler Team include a strong die dent to the right of the upper I in LIBERTY on the obverse and a die scratch running parallel to the rim below the 46 in the date, both providing reliable authentication points for this variety. The reverse shows no notable markers. The Wexler Team assigned this variety the designation 1946 25-cent WDDO-007 with no other cross-references currently known, indicating it has not been independently cataloged by CONECA or the Cherrypickers' Guide. Washington Quarter doubled die varieties from the 1940s are particularly interesting to specialists because the relatively low relief of Flanagan's design makes subtle hub doubling challenging to detect, rewarding the careful examiner who systematically checks date digits, mintmarks, and motto lettering under appropriate magnification. The very close spread on WDDO-007 exemplifies this subtlety, requiring patient examination to confirm.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Tony Russo Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1946 25¢ WDDO-007
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References