I see a lot of doubled dies in the time between each installment of this column, so I am rarely surprised by what I see arriving.

However, every now and then a variety appears that sparks the “Oh my, where have you been hiding all this time?” type of response. Such is the case with a doubled die on the reverse of a Proof 1971-S Eisenhower dollar recently submitted by Coin World reader Thomas Kalantzis.

To describe this variety as anything less than a major doubled die would not do it justice. It is a Class V (Pivoted Hub Doubling) doubled die that shows an extremely strong counterclockwise spread from a pivot near the rim at about 7 o’clock.

With Class V doubled dies, the strongest spread shows on the side of the coin directly across from the pivot point while the least amount of doubling shows right around the pivot point.

On the Proof Eisenhower dollar from Kalantzis, extremely strong doubling shows on united states of america, e pluribus unum, one dollar, the stars, the designer’s initials, the Earth, the eagle’s left wing feathers and its tail feathers, the olive branch and leaves, and the craters with the strongest spread on the upper right side of the reverse.

I listed this one in my files as 1971-S $1 Pr WDDR-010. The Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America now lists this one in its files as DDR-005 (5-R-V).

While the strength of the doubling makes this a very appealing variety, another factor adds to that appeal as well and that is rarity.

The average life of a Proof Eisenhower dollar die was 2,000 coins. That means that it is highly unlikely that more than 2,000 examples of this variety exist. How’s that for rare?

I understand that this one is a candidate for inclusion in the next edition of The Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties. I’ll be watching to see if it makes it. If it does, you can be sure that there will be a lot of folks looking for this one. Now that you know about it, get searching!

John Wexler is a renowned numismatic researcher and author on error coins and die varieties.