1943 Doubled Die

The 1943 Doubled Die is the most prominent wartime hub-doubled variety in the Washington quarter series, attributed by PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, as FS-101 in the Cherrypickers' Guide reference system. The doubling shows clearly on IN GOD WE TRUST and on the date 1943, the result of a misaligned hubbing during die preparation when the working die received two impressions slightly offset from one another. The combined Philadelphia mintage for the date was 99.7 million pieces, but only a small fraction came off the doubled die before it was retired; surviving examples of the variety are scarce relative to the standard 1943, and properly attributed pieces command substantial premiums in any grade.

Authentication begins with a five-to-ten-power loupe on the obverse motto. Genuine hub doubling on the variety produces clear separation on the letters of IN GOD WE TRUST, with the strongest spread on TRUST, along with rounded secondary impressions on the digits of the date. Machine doubling, which is not collectible doubling and reflects only die chatter at the moment of strike, shows as a flat shelf-like effect rather than the rounded, fully-formed secondary image hub doubling produces. The distinction matters because raw "1943 DDO" listings include many machine-doubled coins that do not meet the variety standard, and prices for the genuine variety are high enough to attract misattributions. Buy this coin certified by PCGS or NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, with the FS-101 designation noted on the holder. Strike on the variety follows the typical wartime pattern, with softness on Washington's hair above the ear and on the eagle's breast feathers, so condition censuses skew toward MS63 and MS64 rather than the absolute top grades.

The variety has been the standout Philadelphia DDO of the wartime run for decades, and population growth has been slow, which keeps the certified market consistently thin. Realistic acquisition is a PCGS or NGC slabbed MS63 to MS65 sourced through a major auction house, with prices well into four figures in mid-Mint State and substantially higher in gem. Set collectors pursuing the complete Washington quarter variety run treat the coin as a cornerstone alongside the 1942-D DDO and the 1943-S DDO. For the broader story of John Flanagan's design and the series' production arc, see the Washington Quarter series history.