1953 Washington Quarter Proof DDO or machine doubled

[coinsarefun]

Is this a DDO? Or machine doubled? Or something else?
Thanks,
I still haven't fiqured out how to post the pictures on the post itself

[wavysteps]

It is hard to tell from the pictures what you have, however, I do see some signs of possible doubling that may tend to make it a doubled die. However, it is not CONECA 1-O-V, but maybe the SDO-004 which is found on all the 1953 Washington quarters, proofs included.

BJ Neff

[diamond]

What is "SDO" an abbreviation of?

[wavysteps]

Mike - I have a feeling that it is supposed to be "MDO", however, our files show "SDO" and I did not want to second guess what has been written.

Unfortunately, the CONECA files do not have a listing of abbreviations used in the files and in may be helpful for a page to be constructed for just that.

BJ

[BIM Mania]

"SDO" = Series Doubled Obverse

"SDR" = Series Doubled Reverse

I found this some time ago, under the 'terms and definitions' of CONECA.

http://www.conecaonline.org/content/abbreviations.html

Can't say I've seen it used regularly or what it actually means.

Oh well, time for some eggnog


Jeff

[JamesWiles]

Jeff beat me to it. SDO means Series Doubled Obverse. It refers to a doubled master hub which was used across a several year range. In this case the same doubled master hub was used from 1951-1954. We know it was the master hub rather than the master die, because the same doubling is found on coins from all 4 years. Remember that many times the mint used a 2 digit master hub and then punched the last two digits into the master die. An interesting tidbit for the washington series is that there was a second master hub in use for 1951-1952. It is not a doubled die, but it has a different style of lettering. The OP's coin is SDO.

[wavysteps]

Thanks James for clearing that up. Learn something new each day. Should also add that I knew of the abbreviation and term page, just forgot that it was there.

BJ

[coinsarefun]

It is hard to tell from the pictures what you have, however, I do see some signs of possible doubling that may tend to make it a doubled die. However, it is not CONECA 1-O-V, but maybe the SDO-004 which is found on all the 1953 Washington quarters, proofs included.

BJ Neff

I tried yet another image of the date. I does appear to have doubling, maybe it is not the exact same?. Are there more than one pair of dies that were used that were doubled?

[wavysteps]

A series doubled die means that all master dies, working hubs and working dies will be the same, comparatively speaking. The intensity of the doublingand affected area will vary dependent on how many working dies were made from a particular working hub (like working dies, working hubs do age and tend to spread as the get older). Likewise, how many working hubs that were made from a particular master die will also affect the placement and intensity of the doubling. All for the same reason given above for the transfer of designs from the working hub to the working die.

In this case it was the master hub that had the doubling, which was transfered to the master die. This continued for a few years, 1951 to 1954. The reason why is fairly simple. When making a new master hub for the year, it was common practice of the mint to take last years master hub, remove the last two digits of the date, hub a master die, placing the two new digits of the date onto that new master die and then making a new master hub, which in turn made a new master die, working hubs, then working dies. That was how the doubling was continued from year to year, until it was corrected.

BJ Neff

[coinsarefun]

Thanks for clearing it up for me.
In regards to the last photo of the date I posted ,would mine be called a
CONECA 1-O-V, or SDO-004?

[wavysteps]

Comparing your picture against the one in the Cherrypickers guide, it does not look like CONECA 1-O-V, but as I have said before, it is hard to attribute a die by just a picture.

BJ Neff