1956 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-038

Description

Brian A. Ribar attributed this Class II distorted hub doubling on the 1956 Jefferson nickel proof, where a visually appealing spread shows on OF AMERICA with the separation increasing progressively from left to right across the inscription. This gradient effect -- stronger at the right end of the text -- is characteristic of Class II distortion, where non-uniform warping of the hub surface causes different areas of the die face to receive varying degrees of displacement during the hubbing process. The obverse die marker consists of a vertical die scratch on the front portion of Jefferson's collar, a feature subtle enough to require careful examination under magnification but diagnostically reliable once located. On the reverse, a die scratch runs from the M of MONTICELLO to the T of UNITED, and a second die scratch appears to the right of the long right window, providing two independent confirmation points for the reverse die. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 1956 WDDR-038 Proof, this listing falls within the proof-only production of the San Francisco and Philadelphia operations (Philadelphia handled proof production exclusively until 1968). The United States Mint produced 669,384 proof sets in 1956, a figure that had been climbing steadily through the 1950s as proof set collecting gained mainstream popularity. WDDR-038 demonstrates that even the carefully controlled proof die manufacturing process could not entirely eliminate the hub distortions that produce Class II doubling.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian A. Ribar
• Wexler Variety ID: 1956 WDDR-038 Proof
• Expert attribution by Brian A. Ribar

External References