2015 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-007

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 2015-P 25-cent DE WDDR-007 and cross-referenced in the VarietyVista system as VDDR-015, this America the Beautiful Quarter carries a doubled die reverse discovered on the 2015 Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge design from Delaware. The doubling appears as extra blades of grass above the right end of the upper grass strip positioned between the great egret and the great blue heron depicted in the wildlife scene — a subtle but definitive doubled die feature located within the naturalistic marsh landscape of the reverse design. Reverse die markers provide additional identification points: a die gouge appearing as a dot to the right of the lower back of the great blue heron west of the N in UNUM, a die chip below the great blue heron's eye, and a die crack running from the northwest to the southeast down the back of the great blue heron's head and upper neck. No significant obverse die markers have been noted. The America the Beautiful Quarter was designed with a standard George Washington obverse by John Flanagan (as modified by William Cousins) and individual reverse designs for each national site. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in clad composition at 5.67 grams with a 24.3 mm diameter, the ATB Quarter series ran from 2010 to 2021, honoring national parks and historic sites in each state and territory. The Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge reverse, designed by Phebe Hemphill, depicts the estuary habitat with its characteristic wading birds. The concentration of die markers specifically around the great blue heron — the die gouge at its back, the chip at its eye, and the crack down its head and neck — suggests this area of the die experienced particular stress, possibly due to the depth of the design elements in the bird's detailed plumage rendering.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: VarietyVista: VDDR-015
• VarietyVista: VDDR-015; Wexler Variety ID: 2015-P 25¢ DE WDDR-007
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References