2015 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-007

Description

Seventh in the doubled die reverse census for the 2015 Jefferson nickel, WDDR-007 exhibits Class VIII tilted hub doubling visible below the upper portion of the door frame on the center door above the steps of Monticello — Thomas Jefferson's iconic Virginia plantation home depicted on the nickel reverse since Felix Schlag's original 1938 design. The "Return to Monticello" reverse, reintroduced in 2006 after the Westward Journey series interlude, maintained the architectural rendering that provides intricate door frames, columns, and stepped approaches ideal for detecting hub doubling. Class VIII tilted hub doubling occurs when the working hub and die are slightly tilted relative to each other during the die sinking process, creating a rotational displacement that varies in intensity across the design depending on distance from the tilt axis. Obverse die markers include a small die chip on the left edge of Jefferson's right ear — a distinctive defect that positively identifies this working die pair. The reverse carries a die gouge below the M of AMERICA as an additional diagnostic. Philadelphia struck billions of nickels throughout the 2010s, and the 2015 production run contributed to the substantial die consumption that generates modern doubled die varieties. The specific location of the doubling — the center door frame above the steps — places the diagnostic in one of Monticello's most architecturally detailed areas, where the straight vertical and horizontal lines of the door frame provide excellent reference edges against which tilted hub displacement becomes apparent. Collectors should direct illumination at a low angle across the center doorway area under 15-20x magnification, looking for a secondary frame edge displaced from the primary line.

Die Markers

• Obverse: Small die chip on left edge off Jefferson's right ear.
• Reverse: Die gouge below M of AMERICA.

External References