1961 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

On this 1961 proof Franklin half dollar, light spread appears on most outer lettering with the strongest doubling concentrated on LIBERTY — a distribution suggesting the hub displacement axis ran through the upper obverse where the legend sits in raised relief. The proof strike amplifies the visibility of the secondary image: against the deep mirror fields characteristic of 1961 Philadelphia proof production, even light doubling on LIBERTY's tall vertical letter strokes becomes apparent under a loupe. Cataloged under UVC-156 / DMR-004 by VarietyVista, die stage progression moves from Early Die State (Stage A, unconfirmed) through Mid Die State (Stage B, both obverse and reverse) to Late Die State (Stage C, unconfirmed). The Franklin half dollar series ran from 1948 through 1963, with proof issues struck each year at Philadelphia, and die variety specialists have cataloged the proof dies extensively. DDO-002 holds the second position in the doubled die obverse listings for 1961, indicating it ranks among the most significant or earliest-discovered obverse hub doublings for that date.

Die Markers

• UVC-156
• DMR-004
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Unknown
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References