1966 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-029

Description

Twenty-ninth in the obverse doubled die census for the 1966 Kennedy half dollar, DDO-029 exhibits light spread on the chin, neck, ear, and Gilroy Roberts's designer initials GR on the Kennedy portrait — a pattern focused entirely on the sculptural elements of the president's profile rather than the surrounding inscriptions. VarietyVista cataloged this variety under UVC-389 and DMR-036, with three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B where the obverse has reached mid die state and four die scratches running northeast through the upper right area of the first T of STATES on the reverse provide a MDS diagnostic, and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The Stage B die scratches through the first T of STATES serve as a crucial secondary confirmation marker, allowing collectors to verify the correct die even before examining the portrait for the subtle light spread. The comment notation "BS" identifies this as a business strike variety from the 1966 production, a year when no proof coins were struck and Special Mint Sets (SMS) served as the premium collector product. Philadelphia produced approximately 108.98 million Kennedy half dollars in 1966, the second year of the 40% silver-clad composition. Light spread concentrated on portrait elements — chin, neck, ear, and initials — rather than inscriptions suggests the hub displacement was centered in the portrait area, with the three-dimensional contours of Kennedy's profile amplifying even minor displacement into detectable doubled contours. Collectors should first locate the four northeast-trending die scratches through the first T of STATES on the reverse to confirm the correct die, then examine the chin and ear area under 15-20x magnification for the light spread that defines DDO-029.

Die Markers

• UVC-389
• DMR-036
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse is MDS
• Four die scratches Northeast through the upper Right first T of STATES – MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References