1966 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-002

Description

Brian Ribar discovered and the Wexler Team attributed this 1966 Jefferson nickel WDDR-002, a Class II distorted hub doubling variety where close doubling appears on UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, increasing in strength from left to right across the reverse. Very close doubling also manifests on UNUM. The left-to-right increasing pattern is diagnostically significant: it establishes the angular pivot point of the Class II distortion as being toward the left side of the die, with the displacement amplifying proportionally as distance from that pivot increases. Reverse die markers provide three attribution anchors: a die scratch extending from the lower right portion of the M in MONTICELLO, die scratches clustered below CE of MONTICELLO, and a die gouge in the field above the left edge of the Monticello roof. No obverse die markers were recorded. The 1966 Jefferson nickel occupies a unique position in U.S. coinage history. Produced during the 1965-1967 Special Mint Set era when the Treasury eliminated proof sets and suppressed mintmarks to discourage hoarding during the silver coin shortage, all 1966 nickels were struck at Philadelphia without a mintmark. The Mint produced 156.2 million business-strike nickels and 2,261,583 Special Mint Set examples in 1966, though both used the same composition and basic striking process. WDDR-002's identification as a doubled die variety from this mintmark-suppressed era adds an extra layer of historical context, representing a period when the government actively tried to reduce collector interest in circulating coins while inadvertently creating varieties that would later generate precisely that interest.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar
• Wexler Variety ID: 1966 WDDR-002
• Expert attribution by Brian Ribar

External References