1951 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-009

Description

Ninth doubled die reverse for the 1951 Philadelphia Franklin Half Dollar, DDR-009 presents medium spread directed south on the lower eagle, lower bell edge, striker, and left bell hanger. Cataloged by VarietyVista with codes UVC-276 and DMR-012, the die tracks four distinct stages. Stage A is early die state, unconfirmed. Stage B places both reverse and obverse at mid-die state. Stage C develops a strong die crack running across the front of the bust to the U of TRUST at late die state, accompanied by a die scratch running northeast from the upper R of PLURIBUS. Stage D reaches very late die state where the bust crack lengthens and strengthens while the reverse die scratch wears away, illustrating how progressive die deterioration simultaneously creates and destroys diagnostic features. The reverse design variant is RDV-001b. The 1951 Franklin Half was struck during the early years of John R. Sinnock's design, which replaced the Walking Liberty in 1948 and would itself give way to the Kennedy Half in 1964.

Die Markers

• UVC-276
• DMR-012
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• Strong die crack across front of bust to U of TRUST – LDS
• Die scratch Northeast from upper R of PLURIBUS – LDS
• Stage D:
• Longer and strong die crack on bust – VLDS
• Die scratch on Reverse worn away – VLDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Tony Russo
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References