1957 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-003

Description

Third in the obverse doubled die census for the 1957 Washington silver quarter, DDO-003 exhibits light spread across IN GOD WE TRUST and the date on John Flanagan's Washington portrait design. VarietyVista documented this die under UVC-0892 and DMR-006, with three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C where the obverse has reached late die state while the reverse is separately listed as DDR-001 in late die state. This cross-listing is particularly noteworthy — the comment "Reverse is LISTED as DDR-001" confirms that the reverse die paired with this obverse carries its own independent doubled die attribution, making this die marriage a dual-variety combination where both obverse and reverse display hub doubling from separate events during their respective die preparation processes. Philadelphia struck approximately 46.5 million silver quarters in 1957, one of the higher mintage years in the pre-1965 silver quarter era as the Mint worked to meet growing commercial demand that would eventually overwhelm silver coinage capacity by 1964. The 90% silver, 10% copper composition of these quarters produces a distinctive brilliant luster that can either aid or hinder doubled die detection depending on the coin's surface preservation. Light spread on IN GOD WE TRUST and the date covers the upper motto and the lower-right date area, suggesting a broad hub misalignment that affected multiple obverse design zones. The DDR-001 reverse pairing elevates the collecting interest significantly, as specimens from this die marriage can be attributed for both obverse and reverse varieties. Collectors should examine the motto letters and date digits under 12-18x magnification, then flip the coin to verify the reverse DDR-001 characteristics for complete attribution documentation.

Die Markers

• UVC-0892
• DMR-006
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse is LDS
• Reverse is LISTED as DDR-001 – LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Delma K. Romines
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References