1946-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-009

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1946-S 10¢ WDDO-009 with no additional cross-references currently known, this Roosevelt Silver Dime features a very close spread towards the center on the designer's initials JS (for John R. Sinnock) and the date — a convergent doubling pattern where the secondary hub impression shifted inward toward the coin's center, producing subtle displacement on the interior side of these design elements. The Type I mintmark designation on the obverse distinguishes this die's S punch from other mintmark styles used on 1946-S Roosevelt Dimes. Obverse die markers include a die scratch northeast centered above the second T in TRUST and a die scratch south from the right side of the earlobe. The reverse features an extensive set of diagnostics: a trumpet tail mintmark (an S with a distinctive flared lower terminal), die scratches running southeast above the E in UNITED from the rim and continuing through the E into the T, a die gouge on the right side of the lower horizontal bar of the E in AMERICA, and a short north-south die scratch inside the O of ONE. The trumpet tail mintmark is a particularly useful marker because mintmark punch style variations — where different physical S punches with distinct serif and terminal characteristics were used across the working die population — provide an immediate sorting criterion before examining finer die markers. The 1946-S Roosevelt Dime was the inaugural year of the series at the San Francisco Mint, struck in 90% silver composition weighing 2.50 grams with a 17.9 mm diameter. Sinnock designed both the obverse portrait and the reverse torch with olive and oak branches. As the ninth cataloged DDO for the 1946-S date, this variety documents the frequency of hub doubling events across the die population during the series' first production year.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1946-S 10¢ WDDO-009
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References