1959 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-003

Description

Remarkable for both its strong spread intensity and the unusual triple-spread characteristic on select design elements, DDR-003 for the 1959 Jefferson nickel reverse ranks among the more visually dramatic doubled dies in the series. Strong spread affects E PLURIBUS UNUM, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, FIVE CENTS, and the last O of MONTICELLO on Felix Schlag's architectural reverse — and the doubling decreases in intensity from left to right across the reverse face, a gradient that reveals the directional bias of the hub misalignment. Even more notably, the letters of UNITED and the M of MONTICELLO display triple spread, indicating three distinct hub impressions rather than the standard two — a relatively uncommon phenomenon that occurs when the die receives three separate but imperfectly aligned hub impressions during manufacture. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-977 and DMR-006 to document this die within their classification framework. Philadelphia struck approximately 160.7 million nickels in 1959, the inaugural year of the Lincoln Memorial cent but an otherwise unremarkable production year for the nickel denomination. The left-to-right decrease in doubling spread means design elements at the left periphery of the reverse show the most pronounced displacement while those at the right show progressively less, consistent with a pivoted or tilted hub misalignment centered somewhere off the right side of the die. The triple spread on UNITED and the M of MONTICELLO provides the most distinctive diagnostic, as three overlapping but offset impressions create a layered effect visible even under moderate magnification. Collectors should examine the E PLURIBUS UNUM motto at the upper reverse under 10x magnification as an initial screening point, then confirm by checking UNITED and the M of MONTICELLO for the triple impression that distinguishes DDR-003 from other 1959 Jefferson nickel DDRs.

Die Markers

• UVC-977; DMR-006

External References