1969-S Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-005

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as 1969-S 50¢ Pr WDDR-005 and cross-referenced as CONECA 3-R-II, this Class II doubled die reverse variety was struck on a 1969-S proof Kennedy half dollar at the San Francisco Mint. The 1969-S half dollar belongs to the silver-clad series produced from 1965 through 1970, composed of an outer layer of 80% silver and 20% copper bonded to a core of 20.9% silver and 79.1% copper, giving an overall silver content of 40%. The coin weighs 11.5 grams with a 30.6 mm diameter and a reeded edge. San Francisco produced 2,934,631 proof sets in 1969, part of the final era of silver-clad half dollar production before the composition shifted entirely to copper-nickel clad in 1971. The doubling on WDDR-005 is classified as Class II tripled, meaning three distinct hub impressions are detectable, producing a spread toward the center visible on USA, HALF DOLLAR, all stars in the ring of stars, all stars above E PLURIBUS UNUM, and slightly on the four stars behind the eagle's head on Gilroy Roberts' and Frank Gasparro's Kennedy half dollar design. The tripled spread is strongest at the 12 o'clock position and weakest at 6 o'clock, indicating a directional component to the hub distortion. Reverse die markers include a die gouge under the top left of the second T of STATES, short vertical die gouges above the bottom of the first L in DOLLAR, and a die scratch running west-northwest from the upper left of the D of UNITED. No obverse die markers have been noted. Tripled die varieties — where three distinct impressions are visible — are less common than standard doubled dies and command particular attention from variety specialists because they indicate the die was hubbed at least three times with detectable displacement between impressions.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jennifer Casazza Cross References: CONECA: 3-R-II
• CONECA: 3-R-II; Wexler Variety ID: 1969-S 50¢ Pr WDDR-005
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References