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Pillar of the Community
United States
6381 Posts |
Hi, I saw the post by Forum Dad Bobby in the Classic Coin section about the proof 1938 Jefferson variety with a serif on the bottom of the S in TRUST. I inspected my 1938 proof and saw that it also had at least a small serif which apparently is not normal. Under the microscope I also saw what looks like doubling of TRUST on my coin. Here's a photo; can anyone say whether this is a doubled die? I appreciate any input!   Edited by Jaobler 10/03/2008 4:32 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3507 Posts |
I don't know the values of them but there are obverse die varieties on proofs. There are also obverse die varieties on circulation strikes. There are doubled dies and there is even a quadrupled die known. The Jefferson nickel series had some master die varieties as well that translated into many coins with doubled dies being out there. I can't get any more specific than that as to what dates and die varieties are most valuable but maybe this will give you a little bit to work with. Thanks, Bill
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Very interesting coin! Especially the top serifs in the R and U. Is that a DDO? 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2177 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6381 Posts |
I'll try one more bump on this. I took a number of additional photos but the original one was the best I could do. I can't enlarge any further and I can't get closer to the coin because of the slab. The "doubling" is most obvious on TRU of TRUST, as shown. 1) Does anyone know whether DDO's are known for the 1938 proof Jefferson nickel? 2) Does my photo give enough detail to determine whether this is a doubled die? I've seen other coins on this forum which were judged to be doubled dies that had less apparent doubling. If I can get a consensus that it is a DDO, I'll see about sending it back to ANACS for attribution. I presume getting the DDO attribution on the slab label would be worth the grading fee. Thanks for your input!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7629 Posts |
1938 plain there are over a dozen different reported doubled die obverses and three doubled die reverses known to date. none, however, are on proof coins.
I cannot tell from your photo whether your coin is indeed a doubled die, but it appears to be something worth further investigation.
If it does turn out to be a doubled die, it would probably significantly increase the value of the coin, especially if it is the discovery piece for the die.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6381 Posts |
I sent my coin to Michael Fey for inspection and he doesn't think it is a doubled die. However, it does appear to be re-engraved on the letters TRU of TRUST and is definitely different from both the Plain S and the newly-reported Serif S proof types. Further investigation is underway.  Meanwhile, I bought another proof 1938 nickel and found that it has a very strong serif on the S. There is no sign of the re-engraving I saw on my first coin. Presumably, this example is like the Serif S type that was reported in the Coin World and Numismatic News articles. My camera seems to be dying but I was able to get this photo of my new nickel. The serif is obvious. Perhaps it will turn out that the Serif S type is really just as "normal" as the Plain S type! 
Edited by Jaobler 08/23/2008 8:25 pm
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Moderator
 United States
16677 Posts |
 There is definitely doubling there.
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6381 Posts |
After Michael Fey examined my nickel he sent it to Ken Potter and Tom DeLorey for further study and photographs. Mr. DeLorey has concluded that this coin is one of several different obverse die varieties for this proof issue. Apparently there were several separate re-engraving operations that took place during the production of the 1938 proof Jefferson nickels. Mr. DeLorey has designated my coin as "variety 2". So far he has described 5 different obverses. Presumably that list could still be incomplete. The full write-up appears in the 9/30/08 issue of Numismatic News. I wonder if and when ANACS will be ready to encapsulate my coin with the new die attribution information! 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2254 Posts |
Very nice James. I'm glad you decided to pursue, regardless if it adds value. I don't subscribe to NN, but I assume there's mention of CCF in there from your article?  Just kidding with you. What makes this site great is people like yourself going out of your way and keeping us up to date on things liek this so that we can all learn from it.
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Pillar of the Community
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6381 Posts |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,262 |
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