1970-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-012

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista under UVC-1386 and DMR-029, this 1970-S Jefferson Nickel shows light spread on the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and FIVE CENTS on Felix Schlag's Monticello reverse. Three die stages have been documented: Stage A with both reverse and obverse at early die state, Stage B at mid-die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The 1970-S Jefferson Nickel was struck exclusively at the San Francisco Mint during a period when San Francisco was transitioning its role in the U.S. Mint system — it had resumed striking circulating coinage in 1968 after years of focusing solely on proof production, and the S-mint nickels of this era were distributed through normal circulation channels. Production volumes for 1970-S nickels were relatively modest compared to Philadelphia and Denver, making doubled die varieties from this date and mint combination somewhat scarcer in the marketplace. Doubled die reverses on Jefferson Nickels of the original Schlag design are typically identified through the reverse inscriptions, where the tall, narrow letter forms of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and FIVE CENTS provide clear baselines against which any hub displacement becomes apparent. Twelve documented doubled die reverses for the 1970-S nickel represents a solid count for a lower-mintage issue, indicating that multiple die pairs exhibited hubbing anomalies during this year's San Francisco production.

Die Markers

• UVC-1386
• DMR-029
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References