1967 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-003

Description

Produced during the United States Mint's experimental Special Mint Set era, DDR-003 on the 1967 SMS Jefferson Nickel shows light spread on STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM that increases from left to right across both inscriptions. Die markers UVC-1313 and DMR-006 confirm this working die. The progressive left-to-right intensification follows the pivoted hub doubling pattern, with the pivot point positioned to the left of the affected inscriptions and the displacement magnitude growing as distance from that pivot increases rightward. Special Mint Sets were produced from 1965 through 1967 as a substitute for both proof sets and uncirculated mint sets during the coin shortage era — Congress eliminated mintmarks and halted proof production, and the Mint instead offered these hybrid-quality coins that featured better-than-business-strike surfaces without achieving full proof mirror finish. The SMS designation means this coin bears no mintmark despite being struck at the Philadelphia Mint, as all 1965-1967 coinage omitted mintmarks regardless of facility. This historical context makes SMS varieties particularly interesting to collectors: they represent a brief window when the Mint's normal production protocols were disrupted, and the SMS finishing process — involving specially prepared dies and planchets — created surface characteristics distinct from both regular strikes and proofs. On Felix Schlag's Monticello reverse, the two affected inscriptions arc above the building, and the light progressive spread follows the same directional signature documented on other pivoted DDRs in the Jefferson series. Struck in standard copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel), this SMS nickel's spread is best confirmed at the rightmost letters of each inscription under 7x to 10x magnification.

Die Markers

• UVC-1313; DMR-006

External References