1971 Variety WSDO-001

Description

As the Philadelphia Mint counterpart in the WSDO-001 secondary die family, the 1971 Kennedy half dollar shares the same hub-level Class II+V doubling that produced a light counterclockwise spread from a pivot at approximately 11 o'clock on IN GOD WE TRUST and LIBERTY. The "secondary die obverse" designation means the doubling was impressed into the working hub before any working dies were sunk from it, so every die made from that hub inherited the same anomaly — a fundamentally different mechanism than a conventional doubled die where only a single working die is affected. This hub entered service partway through 1971 and continued through all of 1972 production, spanning coins from Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Because the doubling transfers through the hub rather than originating on individual dies, both obverse and reverse die markers will vary depending on which specific working die pair produced a given coin. Cross-referenced as CONECA SD-1-O-II+V and Wexler Variety ID 1971 50c WSDO-001, the Philadelphia 1971 half dollar had a mintage of 155,164,000 pieces. The combined Class II (distorted hub) and Class V (pivoted hub) mechanism creates a doubling pattern that shows both lateral stretching from the distortion component and radial fanning from the pivot component, producing what attributors sometimes describe as a compound spread. Collectors examining 1971-P Kennedy halves should check IN GOD WE TRUST first, where the spread is most readily apparent, before confirming the LIBERTY doubling under higher magnification.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: CONECA: SD-1-O-II+V Comments: Placed in use partway through 1971 and remained in use through all of 1972. It can be found on coins of all three mints.
• CONECA: SD-1-O-II+V Comments: Placed in use partway through 1971 and remained in use through all of 1972. It can be found on coins of all three mints.; Wexler Variety ID: 1971 50¢ WSDO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References