1973-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-002

Description

Second in the reverse doubled die census for the 1973-S Eisenhower dollar, DDR-002 presents medium spread on all rim lettering, stars, craters, and E PLURIBUS UNUM with the strongest concentration on the upper portion of the reverse — a diagnostic complement to DDR-001, which shows its strongest doubling on the lower reverse. This positional distinction between DDR-001 and DDR-002 indicates they originated from separate hubbing events producing different displacement patterns across Frank Gasparro's Apollo 11 lunar landing reverse design. VarietyVista cataloged this die under UVC-054 and DMR-008, with three die stages tracked: Stage A with reverse and obverse at early die state, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The CN Clad notation confirms this variety was struck in copper-nickel clad composition rather than the 40% silver proof version also produced at San Francisco in 1973. The Eisenhower dollar's large 38.1mm diameter and substantial relief made it particularly susceptible to hub doubling events, as the greater surface area of the die required more precise hub alignment during sinking — any angular deviation was amplified across the larger die face compared to smaller denominations. Medium spread across the upper reverse encompasses the Earth globe, the banner carrying E PLURIBUS UNUM, and the upper constellation of stars, each providing independent diagnostic confirmation points. The sequential relationship between DDR-001 (lower strongest) and DDR-002 (upper strongest) illustrates how multiple dies for the same date-mint-composition combination can receive different hub doubling events during independent die preparation cycles. Collectors should focus initial examination on the upper reverse stars and E PLURIBUS UNUM banner at 10-15x magnification.

Die Markers

• UVC-054
• DMR-008
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References