2016 Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-029

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team as 2016-P 25¢ WV WDDR-029, this doubled die reverse variety was struck on a 2016-P West Virginia Harpers Ferry quarter at the Philadelphia Mint as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters program. The quarter is composed of a copper-nickel clad composition weighing 5.67 grams with a 24.3 mm diameter and a reeded edge. The Harpers Ferry reverse, designed by Thomas Hipschen and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, depicts John Brown's Fort with its distinctive arched doorway and surrounding landscape, commemorating the West Virginia national historical park. The doubling on WDDR-029 is located in the windows of the arch above the center doorway, specifically visible in the third and fourth windows from the left in the bottom row of the architectural detail. This precise localization of the doubling to specific windows in a specific row demonstrates the level of detail required in modern doubled die attribution, where the doubling may affect only a small portion of the overall design. Obverse die markers include a die gouge below the left side of the A in QUARTER and a die gouge inside the upper opening of the first S in STATES. On the reverse, a die gouge appears above the right side of the B in BROWN, and a second die gouge is positioned far below the left side of the N in BROWN, level with the bottom of the word FORT. No additional cross-references to CONECA or other attribution services have been established. The America the Beautiful quarter program, with its annually rotating reverse designs featuring national parks and historic sites, creates a constantly changing landscape for die variety discovery, as each new design presents unique features where hub doubling may manifest. The architectural detail of John Brown's Fort, with its multiple windows and arched doorway, provides numerous fine reference points for detecting the kind of subtle hub displacement documented on WDDR-029.

Attribution History

• Discovered by George W. Powell, Jr. Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 2016-P 25¢ WV WDDR-029
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References