1948-D Doubled Die Reverse DDR-004

Description

Medium spread toward the Northwest defines DDR-004 on the 1948 Denver Mint Franklin Half Dollar, affecting E PLURIBUS UNUM, UNITED, HALF DOLLAR, the dots, and the area right of the bell clapper on John R. Sinnock's Liberty Bell reverse. Die markers tracked under UVC-255 and DMR-006 reveal an unusually well-documented four-stage die life: Stage A in Early Die State (unconfirmed), Stage B at Mid Die State (unconfirmed), Stage C showing a Late Die State reverse paired with DDO-004 in Late Die State, and Stage D reaching Very Late Die State with a die crack developing across the lower front of the bust. The Stage D die crack is particularly significant — it records the die approaching terminal failure, and coins struck in this final stage are likely the scarcest from this die pair. The obverse is listed as DDO-004, creating a combined DDO/DDR die marriage that doubles collector interest. Denver struck 3,006,814 Franklin Half Dollars in 1948, the inaugural year of the series that replaced the Walking Liberty design. Cataloged by VarietyVista, DDR-004 demonstrates how systematic die stage documentation across four confirmed states allows collectors to build complete die progression sets, tracking the die from its earliest impressions through terminal deterioration.

Die Markers

• UVC-255
• DMR-006
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Reverse is LDS
• Obverse is LISTED as DDO-004 – LDS
• Stage D:
• Reverse is VLDS
• Die crack across lower front of bust – VLDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References