1970-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-001

Description

Standing as the benchmark DDO-001 for the 1970-S Kennedy half dollar silver-clad proof, this primary obverse doubled die exhibits medium spread on all outer lettering and the date, with a distinctive triple impression visible in the hair at the top of Kennedy's head and on the ST of TRUST — making this a particularly complex hub doubling event with at least three detectable hubbing impressions on Gilroy Roberts' portrait. VarietyVista assigned die identifiers UVC-159 and DMR-002, documenting three die stages: Stage A where both obverse and reverse surfaces are at early die state, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The EDS confirmation for Stage A ensures specimens with fresh die surfaces have been examined. The comment notation identifies this as a proof issue with Reverse Design Variant RDV-003. Kennedy half dollars struck in 1970 represent the final year of the 40% silver-clad composition that had been in use since 1965, making the 1970-S proof issue the last silver-content Kennedy half until the special collector editions of later decades. San Francisco's 1970 proof production utilized polished dies and specially prepared planchets, creating mirror-finish surfaces that provide exceptional contrast for detecting the medium spread and tripling. The triple impression in the hair at the top of Kennedy's head — an area of fine, flowing detail where multiple overlapping hub impressions create a complex layered effect — and on the ST of TRUST provides the most compelling diagnostics. As DDO-001, this is the benchmark obverse doubled die for the 1970-S proof Kennedy half, and its medium spread designation indicates the doubling is clearly visible under moderate magnification. Collectors should examine the hair detail at the crown of Kennedy's head and the ST of TRUST under 10-15x magnification, looking for three distinct impression layers rather than the two that characterize standard doubling.

Die Markers

• UVC-159
• DMR-002
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Bill Fivaz
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References