1949 Doubled Die Obverse DDO-001

Description

First documented doubled die obverse for the 1949 Franklin Half Dollar, this variety shows light spread on LIBERTY, the date, and the letters IN GOD, documented by VarietyVista under die markers UVC-014 and DMR-002. John R. Sinnock's Benjamin Franklin portrait debuted in 1948 as the first non-presidential figure on a circulating U.S. coin, and by 1949 the Philadelphia Mint was in only the second year of production with this design. The light spread on key obverse elements — the motto fragment, date numerals, and LIBERTY inscription — resulted from slight hub misalignment during the die manufacturing process, where the hub was impressed into the die at a marginally different position on successive strikes. Stage A shows early die state unconfirmed, Stage B shows middle die state unconfirmed, and Stage C confirms both obverse and reverse in late die state, indicating that the only positively verified die state specimens are well-worn dies. As DDO-001, this establishes the primary doubled die obverse attribution for 1949 Franklin Halves. The Franklin Half Dollar series ran from 1948 through 1963, ending when it was replaced by the Kennedy Half Dollar following President Kennedy's assassination, making these sixteen years of production a defined collecting window where every documented variety carries significance.

Die Markers

• UVC-014
• DMR-002
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Hugh T. Campbell
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References