1953-S Variety WMHO-001

Description

San Francisco`s generally lower quarter mintages make the 1953-S an interesting specimen within the WMHO-001 family. While every Washington Quarter from 1951 through 1954 carries the same master hub doubling regardless of mint, the S-mint`s smaller output means fewer coins entered circulation and fewer survive in collectible condition today. Designated 1953-S 25-cent WMHO-001 by the Wexler Team, with CONECA classification SD-4-O-V, this variety presents the characteristic moderate clockwise spread from a pivot near 3:00 on IN GOD WE TRUST. The master hub — the single steel tool at the top of the die production hierarchy — introduced this displacement, which then propagated through every working hub and working die in the chain. For attribution purposes, the WMHO designation tells collectors that no individual obverse or reverse die markers apply, since the doubling appears on all dies produced from this hub. Variations in appearance across individual coins stem from differences in working die condition, strike pressure, and post-strike wear rather than from distinct die events. The 1953-S offers collectors a lower-mintage entry point into the four-year master hub doubling story.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: CONECA: SD-4-O-V Comments: Because the master hub is designed to be used over a period of several years, this one was used during the period from 1951 through 1954. Consequently most Washington quarters during that period of time will show this doubling. Differences in the appearance of the doubling will be due to wear on the working hubs, wear on the working dies, and wear on the coins themselves.
• CONECA: SD-4-O-V Comments: Because the master hub is designed to be used over a period of several years, this one was used during the period from 1951 through 1954. Consequently most Washington quarters during that period of time will show this doubling. Differences in the appearance of the doubling will be due to wear on the working hubs, wear on the working dies, and wear on the coins themselves.; Wexler Variety ID: 1953-S 25¢ WMHO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References