1966 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-023

Description

Twenty-third in the obverse doubled die census for the 1966 Kennedy half dollar, DDO-023 exhibits medium spread on the eye and ear with light spread extending across the profile of Gilroy Roberts' Kennedy portrait. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-097 and DMR-025, with three die stages documented: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and a second Stage B entry indicating that the obverse and reverse have reached late die state. The duplicate Stage B notation (rather than the expected Stage C for LDS) appears to be a cataloging artifact. Kennedy half dollars struck from 1965 through 1970 were produced in a 40% silver-clad composition — a transitional metallurgy adopted after the Coinage Act of 1965 removed silver from dimes and quarters but retained a reduced silver content for half dollars. The 1966 date carried no mintmark regardless of facility, as the Mint temporarily suspended mintmark use from 1965 to 1967 to discourage hoarding during the coin shortage. The "BS" notation in the comments likely refers to a classification abbreviation within VarietyVista's internal coding system. Medium spread on Kennedy's eye and ear provides particularly compelling diagnostics because the sculptural depth of the portrait's facial features accentuates even moderate hub displacement, creating visibly doubled contours in the eyelid line and the ear's helical curves. Light spread extending across the broader profile indicates the doubling diminished in magnitude with distance from the primary affected zone around the eye and ear, consistent with a hub alignment error that produced maximum displacement in one localized area. The high DDO number (023) reflects the extensive variety documentation that Kennedy half dollars have received from specialists.

Die Markers

• UVC-097
• DMR-025
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References