1961 Doubled Working Hub Obverse WWHO-001

Description

Classified as a working hub doubling rather than a working die variety, WWHO-001 on the 1961 Philadelphia Jefferson Nickel exhibits light spread on GOD — a single word within the IN GOD WE TRUST motto — cataloged by the Wexler Team as 1961 Working Hub Obverse 1. Working hub doubling differs fundamentally from the more common doubled die mechanism: where a doubled die (DDO) results from misalignment during the transfer from working hub to a single working die, a doubled working hub (WWHO) occurs during the transfer from master die to working hub, meaning every working die produced from that hub inherits the doubling. This multiplicative effect means WWHO-001's light spread on GOD could theoretically appear on coins struck from multiple different working dies, all traceable to the same flawed hub. The extremely localized nature of the doubling — affecting only GOD rather than the full motto — indicates the hub misalignment produced detectable offset in a narrow zone of the die face while remaining below the visibility threshold elsewhere. Felix Schlag's obverse positions IN GOD WE TRUST in relatively small lettering, and the light spread on GOD requires careful examination under 7x to 10x magnification to confirm. The 1961 nickel was struck in standard copper-nickel composition at the Philadelphia Mint. Because hub varieties can span multiple dies, collectors may encounter this doubling on specimens with different die characteristics.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1961 Working Hub Obverse 1 (WWHO-001)
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References