1983 Kennedy Half Dollar Obverse Die Clash

Description

Die clash marks on the obverse of this 1983-P Kennedy Half Dollar are visible around Kennedy's face, throat, below the neck, and behind the head — impressions transferred from the reverse eagle die when the two dies struck each other without a planchet between them. Die clashes occur during press stoppages when the obverse and reverse dies contact each other directly; the reverse design is impressed into the obverse die and vice versa, leaving ghost images of the opposing face's design on subsequently struck coins. On Kennedy Half Dollars, the eagle's wing and body contours appear as faint incuse or raised marks in the portrait area when a clash has occurred. The 1983-P Kennedy Half Dollar was struck in copper-nickel clad composition — copper core with outer layers of 75% copper, 25% nickel — at the Philadelphia Mint. Die clash varieties on Kennedy Half Dollars are actively collected, with stronger clash impressions commanding premiums, and the 1983-P issue saw notable die-clash production that year.