1968-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-002

Description

Second in the reverse doubled die census for the 1968-S Kennedy half dollar, DDR-002 presents medium spread across all peripheral lettering and stars around the rim, including both the rays and stars positioned between the rays of the heraldic eagle design. Gilroy Roberts' obverse portrait of President Kennedy pairs with Frank Gasparro's heraldic eagle reverse on this 40% silver-clad proof issue, the composition adopted for San Francisco proof halves from 1965 through 1970 as part of the Coinage Act of 1965. VarietyVista assigned die identifiers UVC-140 and DMR-007, documenting three die stages: Stage A where both obverse and reverse surfaces exhibit early die state characteristics, Stage B at mid die state, and Stage C where both surfaces have progressed to late die state. The comments note this die was used for proof production and employs Reverse Design Variant RDV-003, identifying a specific reverse hub configuration within the Kennedy half dollar hub lineage. San Francisco's proof coinage for 1968 saw the resumption of individual proof sets after the Special Mint Set interlude of 1965-1967, with proof production requiring polished dies and specially prepared planchets that create the mirror-like fields characteristic of proof coinage. The medium spread across the full complement of peripheral design elements — lettering, stars, and rays — indicates a substantial hub misalignment that displaced the secondary impression across nearly the entire reverse circumference. Collectors should examine the star points and ray tips under 10-15x magnification, where the angular geometry of these elements most clearly reveals the directional spread of the secondary hub impression against the primary design.

Die Markers

• UVC-140
• DMR-007
• Stage A:
• Reverse and and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• Reverse and and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• Reverse and and Obverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References