1973-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-004

Description

Fourth in the obverse doubled die census for the 1973-S Eisenhower dollar, DDO-004 presents medium spread on IN GOD WE TRUST, the date, and LIBERTY — Frank Gasparro's obverse design featuring President Dwight D. Eisenhower's left-facing portrait that served the dollar denomination from 1971 through 1978. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-105 and DMR-010, documenting three die stages: Stage A where several small die gouges appear on the rim between the K-8 and K-9 clock positions with both obverse and reverse at early die state, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The rim gouges between K-8 and K-9 — corresponding to the 8 and 9 o'clock positions on the coin — provide distinctive secondary diagnostics that are independent of the doubling itself, offering collectors a reliable die identification checkpoint. The comments identify this as a "CN Proof," confirming this is a copper-nickel clad proof struck at San Francisco, part of the annual proof set production rather than the 40% silver proof Eisenhower dollars that were sold separately. San Francisco produced both copper-nickel and silver proof Eisenhower dollars, and distinguishing between the two compositions is essential for accurate variety attribution. Medium spread across three major inscription areas — the motto, date, and LIBERTY — indicates a substantial hub misalignment that displaced the secondary impression across a broad arc of the obverse die face. The Eisenhower dollar's large 38.1mm diameter provides correspondingly larger design elements that can reveal hub doubling more readily than smaller denominations, making medium-spread varieties on Ike dollars particularly satisfying to examine. Collectors should first locate the rim gouges near the 8-9 o'clock position to confirm the die, then evaluate LIBERTY and the date under 10x magnification for the displaced secondary lettering.

Die Markers

• UVC-105
• DMR-010
• Stage A:
• Several small die gouges on rim between K-8 and K-9 – EDS
• Reverse is EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References