1968-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-001

Description

The primary doubled die obverse for the 1968-S Jefferson Nickel and the strongest of the six known varieties for this date-mint, DDO-001 delivers medium spread across all five obverse elements: IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, the five-pointed star, the date, and Felix Schlag's FS designer initials. Die markers UVC-1323 and DMR-007 confirm this working die — notably carrying the lowest UVC number in the 1968-S DDO sequence, indicating it was the first cataloged variety in the VarietyVista system. The medium intensity classification separates DDO-001 from the light-spread trio of DDO-002 through DDO-004, meaning its hub displacement was large enough to produce doubling visible at moderate magnification without requiring the high-power examination that the light-spread varieties demand. This intensity advantage, combined with its DDO-001 primary catalog position, makes it the most sought-after and most readily attributable of the six 1968-S varieties. The five-element distribution — spanning from the motto at upper left through the star at center left, LIBERTY at left, the date at the base, and the FS initials on the neck truncation — confirms a broad hub misalignment affecting the full obverse die face. As the first-cataloged and strongest variety in a family of six, DDO-001 serves as the benchmark specimen against which all other 1968-S doubled die obverses are compared. The 1968-S was struck at the San Francisco Mint in standard copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel). Medium spread on IN GOD WE TRUST and the date provides the quickest visual confirmation under 5x to 7x magnification.

Die Markers

• UVC-1323; DMR-007

External References