1968-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-006

Description

Sixth in the obverse doubled die lineup for the 1968-S Kennedy half dollar, DDO-006 displays light spread on the date, LIBERTY, and light spread on IN GOD WE TRUST — covering the major obverse inscription elements of Gilroy Roberts' Kennedy portrait design. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-563 and DMR-018, documenting three die stages: Stage A where both obverse and reverse surfaces are at early die state, Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The EDS confirmation for Stage A indicates specimens with fresh die surfaces have been verified. Two significant supplementary notes define this variety: the "Proof" designation confirms this die was used for proof production at San Francisco, and the "RDV-002 (Flared G)" comment identifies the reverse design variant as the Flared G type — a specific reverse hub characterized by a distinctive flare at the base of the G in the eagle design. The 1968-S Kennedy half dollar was struck in 40% silver-clad composition, part of the transitional silver-clad series that ran from 1965 through 1970 before the denomination shifted to copper-nickel clad in 1971. San Francisco's proof production employed polished dies and specially prepared planchets, creating mirror-like fields that can make detecting light hub doubling more challenging because the reflective surfaces require precise lighting angles to reveal displacement. The light spread classification across multiple inscription elements — date, LIBERTY, and IN GOD WE TRUST — suggests a broad but subtle hub misalignment affecting the entire obverse rather than a localized distortion. Collectors should use 15-20x magnification with fiber-optic illumination angled to reduce proof surface glare, focusing on the serifs and terminals of LIBERTY where light doubling is most readily apparent.

Die Markers

• UVC-563
• DMR-018
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References