1968-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-016

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die markers UVC-1338 and DMR-022, DDO-016 on the 1968-S Jefferson Nickel carries a light spread visible on five obverse elements: IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, the five-pointed star, the date, and Felix Schlag's designer initials FS. Three die stages have been recorded — Stage A in early die state remains unconfirmed, Stage B in mid die state shows a long die scratch between the lower queue (Jefferson's ponytail) and the shoulder with the reverse also in mid die state, and Stage C in late die state is unconfirmed. The long die scratch between queue and shoulder documented at Stage B provides the most reliable die-specific attribution marker, serving as a fingerprint independent of the doubling itself. The 1968-S holds particular significance in Jefferson Nickel history as the year San Francisco resumed business-strike nickel production, generating a substantial working die population that yielded a noteworthy cluster of doubled die varieties. Struck in standard copper-nickel composition — 75% copper and 25% nickel — at 5.0 grams and 21.21 mm diameter, this coin emerged from the San Francisco Mint during the modern clad era. The light intensity classification across all five affected elements suggests a modest hub displacement that produced uniformly subtle doubling, making the FS designer initials on the bust truncation the most sensitive diagnostic checkpoint where even minimal offset becomes proportionally significant on the fine letterforms.

Die Markers

• UVC-1338
• DMR-022
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Long die scratch between lower queue and shoulder – MDS
• Reverse is MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References