1959 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-001

Description

VarietyVista catalogs DDO-001 on the 1959 Philadelphia Roosevelt silver dime with UVC-316 and DMR-003, documenting light extra thickness on the date, designer's initials (JS for John Sinnock, positioned at the truncation of Roosevelt's neck), and IN GOD WE TRUST. Three die stages have been identified: Stage A in early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B with both obverse and reverse at mid-die state, and Stage C with both sides in late die state. The 1959 Roosevelt dime was struck in 90% silver, part of the final generation of precious metal dimes before the Coinage Act of 1965 mandated the switch to copper-nickel clad composition. Philadelphia produced over 85 million dimes in 1959, but the DDO-001 die pair accounts for only a fraction of that output. Light extra thickness on the designer's initials — among the smallest design elements on the coin — demonstrates how hub doubling can manifest on even the most delicate features. For attribution, the JS initials provide a useful starting point because their small size makes any thickening proportionally more visible. The transition from Stage A through Stage C tracks the die's working life: early impressions with fresh die surfaces, mid-life with normal production characteristics, and late state with accumulated fatigue evidence.

Die Markers

• UVC-316
• DMR-003
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Ed Fletcher
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References