The Australian sixpence of 1944 from the San Francisco mint described and illustrated below does not appear to be a known variety. It is not a strong example of doubled date and mintmark easily seen without a glass. But it appears to be ‘real’ and worthy of note. All comments welcome. 19 mm 2.83 grams 0.925 Silver The mintmark appears doubled on the outside left of the upper loop. The ‘1’ appears surface doubled on the left side of the upright and slightly doubled at the upper right of the right side of the upright. The ‘9’ appears doubled at the middle inside left of the downward stroke. The first ‘4’ appears doubled by evidence of a small cylindrical spike emerging from the left end of the crossbar. The second ‘4’ appears doubled at the inside right as it exhibits a thin downward spike at the inside right; it also exhibits surface doubling at the bottom right of the crossbar. Please see images below.
Strike doubling and touches of corrosion one can only make out at that high level of magnification. Let me just offer a tip. You’d find what you’re looking for better if you understood what it was. In cases of die doubling, you’re looking for two images on the coin slightly offset from one another. That rules out what you’re showing, in particular, in that 1, as the doubling can’t occur on both sides. It’s either on one or the other side. Think of two adjacent images, slightly ajar. They’ll both be the same height off the coin, as they’re formed from the same recess in the die. These were double-squeezed by the hubs to form the dies. The “doubling” shows different from the single-squeezed dies. Here you can learn about that, the “doubling” that manifests on those more modern coins... https://doubleddie.com/58222.html
Thank you for your comments. I agree...this 'variety' is not an example of a "doubled die" or "machine doubling" error. Rather, the doubling that may occur when working dies are modified by re-punching or re-engraving to strengthen weaknesses that may occur when the working hub creates the working dies (the mintmark for example); or when dies get old and exhibit die fatigue (erosion), clashing or other problems and are re-engraved or re-punched in an effort to extend their working lives. Varieties are sometimes created as a result of these efforts. Apologies...I did not make this clear in my description.
