1960 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-008

Description

Light spread visible on LIBERTY, the 60 of the date, and TRUST identifies DDO-008 on the 1960 Franklin Half Dollar — John R. Sinnock's last circulating half dollar design before the Kennedy Half replacement in 1964. Die tracking data from VarietyVista assigns UVC-267 and DMR-020, with three documented die stages: Stage A shows die scratches running North-South on Franklin's neck with both obverse and reverse in early die state (EDS); Stage B reaches mid-die-state (MDS), though this stage remains unconfirmed; Stage C is late die state (LDS), also unconfirmed. The North-South neck scratches at Stage A provide a critical attribution marker that distinguishes DDO-008 from other 1960 doubled dies. Philadelphia struck approximately 6.02 million business-strike half dollars in 1960 — relatively low production that makes the Franklin series more scarce in circulated grades than its successor. Eight cataloged DDO varieties for 1960 indicates sustained hubbing alignment issues in that year's half dollar die production.

Die Markers

• UVC-267
• DMR-020
• Stage A:
• Die scratches North-South on neck – EDS
• Reverse is EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References