1966 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-031

Description

Identified as a business strike from the transitional 1966 Kennedy Half Dollar production — a year without mintmarks when all coins were struck at Philadelphia and Denver but carry no mint identification — DDO-031 presents medium spread on Kennedy's chin, lips, nose, and eye, paired with a light counterclockwise rotational spread on IB of LIBERTY. The facial doubling concentrates on the profile's most prominent features, where medium spread produces visible secondary outlines that shadow the primary contours of Kennedy's portrait by Gilroy Roberts. The lighter rotational component on LIBERTY's IB suggests a complex hub doubling event combining both translational and rotational displacement. Four die stages document an unusually complete service record: Stage A at Early Die State is unconfirmed, Stage B shows both obverse and reverse at Mid Die State, Stage C develops a die crack on the front trunk of Kennedy's bust marking Late Die State with a Late Die State reverse, and Stage D shows the obverse in Late Die State with a die crack through the upper DO of DOLLAR. The progression from clean dies through two distinct cracking patterns tracks this die pair's full working life.

Die Markers

• UVC-396
• DMR-038
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• Die crack on front trunk of bust – LDS
• Reverse is LDS
• Stage D:
• Obverse is LDS
• Die crack through upper DO of DOLLAR – LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References