1968-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-011

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die markers UVC-1333 and DMR-017, DDO-011 on the 1968-S Jefferson Nickel carries a medium spread across five obverse elements: IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, the five-pointed star, the date, and Felix Schlag's designer initials FS. Three die stages have been recorded: Stage A in early die state remains unconfirmed, Stage B in mid die state shows a die gouge dot on the shoulder above the designer's initials with the reverse also in mid die state, and Stage C in late die state is unconfirmed. The die gouge dot on the shoulder above the FS initials at Stage B serves as the primary die-specific attribution marker independent of the doubling characteristics. The 1968-S Jefferson Nickel was struck at the San Francisco Mint in copper-nickel composition — 75% copper and 25% nickel — weighing 5.0 grams with a diameter of 21.21 mm. The year 1968 marked San Francisco's return to business-strike nickel production after the mintmark hiatus of 1965-1967 mandated by the Coinage Act of 1965, and the S mintmark was restored to coins for the first time in three years. The medium spread classification across all five affected obverse elements indicates a hub displacement of sufficient magnitude to produce doubling readily visible under standard numismatic magnification (5-10x). DDO-011 is one of several doubled die obverse varieties documented for the 1968-S nickel, reflecting the substantial number of working dies required for that year's San Francisco production and the statistical probability of hubbing anomalies across a large die population.

Die Markers

• UVC-1333
• DMR-017
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Die gouge dot on shoulder above designer's initials – MDS
• Reverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References