1956 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-005

Description

Strong extra thickness on LIBERTY and the date, combined with additional extra thickness on TRUST, distinguishes DDO-005 among the 1956 Philadelphia Franklin half dollar doubled die obverses. The strong classification on LIBERTY and the date indicates hub misalignment substantial enough to produce visibly bolder lettering detectable under low magnification, while the extra thickness on TRUST provides a secondary confirmation zone. John R. Sinnock's obverse portrait of Benjamin Franklin was in its ninth year of production when this die was prepared. The reverse die paired with this obverse is identified as RDV-002, connecting this variety to a specific reverse die variety within the 1956 production run. Philadelphia struck approximately 4.03 million Franklin half dollars in 1956, all in the 90% silver composition at 30.6mm diameter. Reported by Timothy Wissert, DDO-005 offers a relatively accessible diagnostic for Franklin half dollar collectors — the strong doubling on LIBERTY and the date numerals should be evident without extreme magnification, making this variety one of the more detectable obverse doubled dies in the mid-1950s Franklin census.

External References