1974 Variety WMHR-001

Description

Designated WMHR-001 (Wexler Master Hub Reverse), this 1974 Eisenhower dollar variety documents a master hub doubling event — a fundamentally different mechanism from the working die doubling that produces most doubled die varieties. A spread directed toward the center is visible on ONE DOLLAR, the designer's initials (FG for Frank Gasparro), and the lunar craters on the reverse eagle-landing-on-the-moon motif that defined the Eisenhower dollar's standard reverse from 1971 through 1978. The master hub distinction is critical: because master hubs produce master dies, which in turn produce working hubs that create working dies, any doubling introduced at the master hub level propagates through the entire die production chain, appearing on every working die derived from that lineage. The CONECA cross-reference SD-2-R-II-C+VI classifies this as a secondary die variety with Class II (Distorted Hub) plus Class VI characteristics on the reverse. The accompanying documentation confirms that working dies with the exact same doubling pattern exist for 1974, 1977, and 1978 — direct evidence of the master hub's multi-year service life spreading the doubling across multiple production years. Differences in the apparent strength of the doubling across those years result from accumulated wear at each stage of the die production hierarchy: master hub wear, master die wear, working hub wear, working die wear, and finally coin wear each progressively attenuate the original master hub displacement. Philadelphia struck approximately 27.37 million Eisenhower dollars in 1974, using dies derived from this doubled master hub. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID: 1974 $1 WMHR-001. Collectors should examine the craters and ONE DOLLAR inscription for the center-directed spread, recognizing that this variety may appear on any 1974, 1977, or 1978 Eisenhower dollar struck from dies in this lineage.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Various Cross References: CONECA: SD-2-R-II-C+VI Comments: Because this was a master hub it was intended to be used over a period of several years. Working dies with the exact same doubling are known to exist for the years 1974, 1977, and 1978. Differences in the appearance of the doubling will result from master hub wear, master die wear, working hub wear, working die wear, as well as coin wear.
• CONECA: SD-2-R-II-C+VI Comments: Because this was a master hub it was intended to be used over a period of several years. Working dies with the exact same doubling are known to exist for the years 1974, 1977, and 1978. Differences in the appearance of the doubling will result from master hub wear, master die wear, working hub wear, working die wear, as well as coin wear.; Wexler Variety ID: 1974 $1 WMHR-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References