1968-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

Carrying the second catalog position in a prolific family of 1968-S doubled die obverses, DDO-002 presents light spread distributed across five obverse elements: IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, the five-pointed star, the date, and Felix Schlag's designer initials FS on the truncation of Jefferson's bust. Die markers UVC-1324 and DMR-008 fingerprint this specific working die and distinguish it from the five other known 1968-S DDOs. The five-element spread pattern — spanning the motto at upper left, LIBERTY at left center, the star below LIBERTY, the date at bottom, and the small FS initials on the neck truncation — indicates a hub displacement broad enough to affect essentially every text and design element on the obverse. Light intensity across all five areas suggests a modest hub offset that produced uniformly subtle doubling, with the compact FS initials providing one of the most sensitive diagnostic checkpoints because even small displacement becomes proportionally significant on such fine letterforms. The 1968-S was struck at the San Francisco Mint in standard copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel), marking the year San Francisco resumed business-strike nickel production after its hiatus. The concentration of six distinct DDOs from a single date-mint combination reflects the substantial number of working dies employed and the statistical inevitability of hub misalignment events across a large die population. Examination should begin at the FS initials under 10x magnification before confirming across the broader inscription areas.

Die Markers

• UVC-1324; DMR-008

External References