1963 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-007

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista under UVC-204 and DMR-009, this 1963 Franklin Half Dollar exhibits a doubled die obverse with medium spread concentrated on the LI of LIBERTY and light spread on IN GOD — a distribution suggesting the hub displacement was strongest in the upper-left quadrant of the die and diminished toward the center. Three die stages are documented: Stage A with both obverse and reverse at early die state, Stage B at mid-die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The concentration of doubling on just two letters of LIBERTY (the L and I) while the remaining letters show no notable spread points to a highly localized misalignment — possibly a slight pivot that produced maximum displacement at one end of the word while the opposite end remained nearly aligned between hub impressions. John R. Sinnock's Franklin portrait features LIBERTY in large letters arcing above the head, and these tall letters provide excellent geometry for detecting even minor hub displacement. The 1963 date was the swan song of the Franklin Half Dollar series, and DDO-007 is among the more distinctive obverse varieties from this final year due to the selective nature of the doubling. With its focus on the LI pair, this variety requires collectors to examine a specific and narrow area of the coin rather than scanning the entire legend, making proper attribution straightforward once the diagnostic region is identified.

Die Markers

• UVC-204
• DMR-009
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References