1965 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-007

Description

Seventh in the obverse doubled die census for the 1965 Kennedy half dollar, DDO-007 exhibits strong spread on WE TRUST, the 5 of the date, Gilroy Roberts' designer initials GR, the RTY of LIBERTY, and the upper hair detail — an impressively broad scope of affected design elements that places this variety among the more dramatic Kennedy half dollar DDOs. VarietyVista assigned die identifiers UVC-340 and DMR-014, tracking three die stages: Stage A where both obverse and reverse surfaces are at early die state, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The EDS confirmation at Stage A indicates specimens with pristine die surfaces have been examined and verified. The "BS" comment confirms business strike production. The 1965 Kennedy half dollar occupies a pivotal position in the series: it was the first year of 40% silver-clad composition, replacing the 90% silver of the 1964 issue, and — like all 1965-67 coinage — carried no mintmark regardless of production facility. Total 1965 half dollar production reached approximately 65.88 million pieces. Strong spread across WE TRUST, the date's 5 digit, designer initials, RTY of LIBERTY, and hair detail demonstrates a substantial hub displacement that influenced both the right side of the portrait (RTY, hair) and the surrounding inscriptions (WE TRUST, date). The upper hair area, where Kennedy's detailed coiffure provides fine parallel strands, exhibits the strong doubling particularly well — the displaced secondary strand impressions create a visibly thickened or shadowed hair texture. Roberts' GR initials near the neck truncation, being small letterforms, clearly reveal the separation between primary and secondary impressions. Collectors should examine the hair under R of LIBERTY and the WE TRUST letters at 8-12x magnification, where the strong spread should be readily apparent.

Die Markers

• UVC-340
• DMR-014
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Pete Goydos
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References