1955 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

DDO-002 on the 1955 Franklin half dollar presents medium-strength doubling across three obverse design elements: LIBERTY, the date, and TRUST — indicating a hub misalignment that affected a broad swath of John R. Sinnock's obverse portrait. The 1955 is a notable date in the Franklin series, with Philadelphia producing only about 2.5 million business strikes — among the lowest mintages in the series and a factor that elevates all varieties from this date. Reported by Dave Biglow, this doubled die obverse documents a working die where the secondary hub impression created visible separation on the motto and date lettering. Medium-class doubling on a Franklin half dollar is particularly collectible because the large format (30.6mm diameter) makes the doubled features more visually impressive than on smaller denominations. The 1955 falls near the end of the Franklin series (1948-1963) and precedes the Kennedy half dollar transition. With the low mintage of this date, DDO-002 examples are scarce by default — any surviving Franklin half from 1955 is a better-date coin, and those with confirmed doubled die attribution carry additional premium.

External References