1965 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-009

Description

A Special Mint Set variety, the 1965 Kennedy Half Dollar DDR-009 displays a medium spread on UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the stars positioned under those letters — the heraldic circle of stars surrounding the eagle on Frank Gasparro's reverse design. Cataloged by VarietyVista as UVC-411 with die marriage reference DMR-018, three die states track the die's progression: Stage A in early die state remains unconfirmed, Stage B at mid-die state develops a die gouge between the upper portions of the E and S in STATES (providing a useful diagnostic marker for this stage), and Stage C confirms both reverse and obverse in late die state. The 1965 Kennedy Half Dollar occupies a unique position in the series — it was the first year of the transition from 90% silver to 40% silver-clad composition, and no proof sets were produced from 1965 through 1967. Instead, the Mint issued Special Mint Sets (SMS), which featured coins with enhanced finish quality between circulation strike and proof. The SMS production process creates specimens with sharper strikes and more lustrous surfaces than standard business strikes, making hub doubling characteristics more visible. As DDR-009, this is the ninth documented doubled die reverse for the 1965 date, and the SMS format provides favorable conditions for detecting the medium spread on the reverse legend and stars.

Die Markers

• UVC-411
• DMR-018
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Die gouge between upper ES of STATES – MDS
• Obverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• Reverse and and Obverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References