1971 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-003

Description

Third doubled die reverse attributed for the 1971 Philadelphia Mint Eisenhower Dollar by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID 1971 $1 WDDR-003, this variety emerged during the first year of America's final large-format dollar series. The concentration of at least four doubled die reverses on the inaugural 1971 date suggests that die preparation for Frank Gasparro's Apollo 11 eagle reverse — with its complex design featuring an eagle landing on the lunar surface holding an olive branch — presented alignment challenges during the hubbing process. A doubled die reverse forms when successive hub impressions are not perfectly registered, transferring a ghost image onto the working die that appears on every coin struck from that die. The Eisenhower Dollar's 38.1mm diameter provided a large canvas on which even subtle doubling became detectable. Philadelphia struck copper-nickel clad business strikes in 1971, while San Francisco produced silver-clad collector versions. As a first-year issue, the 1971-P Ike Dollar received intense collector scrutiny that helped identify multiple hubbing varieties early. Three documented DDRs from a single date and mint demonstrates that the hubbing process for this complex reverse design was not always perfectly controlled during the series' debut production run.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1971 $1 WDDR-003
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References