1959 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista as the second doubled die obverse for the 1959 Roosevelt Silver Dime, DDO-002 exhibits light spread on the date numerals — a subtle but diagnostic doubling characteristic that requires magnified examination for confident attribution. Technical classification data includes UVC-317 and DMR-004, with three documented die stages: Stage A in Early Die State (unconfirmed), Stage B with both obverse and reverse in Mid Die State (the confirmed stage), and Stage C in Late Die State (unconfirmed). The 1959 Roosevelt Dime was struck during the final years of the silver composition era — the dime would continue in 90% silver through 1964 before the Coinage Act of 1965 mandated the transition to copper-nickel clad composition. Roosevelt Dimes designed by John R. Sinnock entered production in 1946, and by 1959 the design was well established with consistent die production methods. Light date spread on Roosevelt Dimes is a particularly useful diagnostic because the date occupies a prominent position on the obverse below Roosevelt's portrait, and even minor hub misalignment during the hubbing process can create detectable doubling in this area. The DDO-002 designation indicates this is the second most significant doubled die obverse for 1959, subordinate to DDO-001 in terms of either spread magnitude or collector recognition. The die stage documentation, while partially unconfirmed at the EDS and LDS extremes, provides the framework for collectors to identify which state of the die's life their specimen represents, adding a dimension of die progression research to the variety attribution.

Die Markers

• UVC-317
• DMR-004
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Richard Bateson
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References