1948-D Variety WWHO-001

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as a Doubled Working Hub Obverse (WWHO), this 1948-D Franklin Half Dollar variety represents a level of die production error that occurs earlier in the manufacturing chain than a standard doubled die. While a doubled die results from misalignment during the transfer from working hub to working die, a WWHO traces back to the working hub itself — meaning the doubling was created when the master die was used to produce the working hub, and every subsequent working die made from that hub inherits the same doubling. The diagnostic signature shows a close spread to the southeast on the date and a close spread towards the center on IN GOD WE TRUST and LIBERTY. Because the error originates at the hub level, die markers will differ for each of the affected working dies, as noted in the Wexler attribution. The cross-reference notation confirms that the same working hub doubling affected both the 1948 P-Mint and D-Mint half dollars, linking this Denver variety to its Philadelphia counterpart and establishing a production chain connection between the two mints' 1948 output. The Franklin Half Dollar series, designed by John R. Sinnock and struck from 1948 through 1963, debuted in this very year, making WWHO-001 an error from the series' inaugural production run. The 1948-D carries a mintage of 4,028,600 — a modest figure that makes die variety specimens relatively scarce compared to higher-mintage dates in the series. Wexler's identification of this hub-level error provides crucial documentation for understanding the die manufacturing workflow at the Denver Mint during the late 1940s.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Various individuals Cross References: None known Comments: The same working hub doubling affected the obverse of the 1948 P-Mint half dollars.
• None known Comments: The same working hub doubling affected the obverse of the 1948 P-Mint half dollars.; Wexler Variety ID: 1948-D 50¢ WWHO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References