1956 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-009

Description

Ninth in the reverse doubled die census for the 1956 Franklin half dollar, DDR-009 presents a split-intensity doubling pattern: medium spread on the eagle and AMERICA alongside lighter spread on DOLLAR — a gradient that reveals the directional bias of the hub misalignment across John R. Sinnock's reverse design. The Franklin half dollar reverse, featuring the Liberty Bell prominently with a small obligatory eagle to its right, places UNITED STATES OF AMERICA along the upper arc and HALF DOLLAR at the base, and the diminishing doubling intensity from eagle/AMERICA to DOLLAR traces the displacement's fall-off across the die face. VarietyVista documented this variety under UVC-106 and DMR-020, with three die stages: Stage A at early die state (unconfirmed), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C where both reverse and obverse surfaces have reached mid die state — confirmed. The comment "Reverse is RDV-002" identifies the specific reverse design variant employed, distinguishing this die from RDV-001 variants and providing an additional classification layer. Philadelphia struck approximately 4.70 million Franklin half dollars in 1956, a relatively modest mintage in a series where several dates were produced in much higher quantities. The medium spread on the eagle — that small heraldic bird positioned to the right of the Liberty Bell — makes this design element a particularly useful diagnostic because its compact size concentrates the doubling effect into a small visual area, amplifying its detectability under magnification. The DMR-020 designation, positioned well above the lower-numbered DMR entries, reflects the sequential documentation order within VarietyVista's die marriage registry. Collectors should examine the eagle figure and the adjacent AMERICA letters under 15x magnification for medium-intensity doubled impressions, then compare DOLLAR at the coin's base for the lighter but still present displacement.

Die Markers

• UVC-106
• DMR-020
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References