1966 Doubled Die Reverse DDR-003

Description

Third cataloged doubled die reverse for the 1966 Kennedy Half Dollar, DDR-003 shows medium spread on all thirteen obverse-design stars, the outer lettering, the arrows in the eagle's talons, and the designer's initials — a broad displacement affecting multiple design elements across the reverse face. VarietyVista assigns Universal Variety Code UVC-103 and Die Marker Reference DMR-031, with Stage A documented in Early-to-Mid Die State. The business strike designation confirms this is a circulation-issue coin rather than a Special Mint Set piece, though 1966 falls within the 1965-1967 window when no proof coins or mintmarked issues were produced — all coins from all three years bear no mintmark and were struck at Philadelphia. The 1966 Kennedy Half Dollar was composed of 40% silver (outer layers of 80% silver bonded to an inner core of 21% silver), a transitional composition adopted after the 90% silver standard ended in 1964. Gilroy Roberts designed the obverse portrait of President Kennedy, while Frank Gasparro created the heraldic eagle reverse. Examine the stars, lettering, arrows, and designer's initials for the medium spread that characterizes this doubled die reverse.

Die Markers

• UVC-103
• DMR-031
• Stage A:
• Reverse and and Obverse are EMDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lee Rogers
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References