1969-D Doubled Die Reverse DDR-009

Description

Ninth reverse doubled die cataloged for the 1969-D Kennedy half dollar silver clad, DDR-009 exhibits medium spread affecting all stars around the rim, AMERICA, arrow shafts, and the designer's initials on Frank Gasparro's heraldic eagle reverse. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-445 and DMR-016, documenting three die stages: Stage A where both reverse and obverse surfaces are at early-to-mid die state (EMDS), Stage B at mid die state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The EMDS confirmation for Stage A indicates verified specimens exist with die surfaces between fresh and moderately worn states. The comments contain a particularly information-dense notation: RDV-003/ODV-002a (MDO), identifying both the Reverse Design Variant (RDV-003) and the Obverse Design Variant (ODV-002a) with an MDO designation — Multiple Die Overlap or Modified Die Obverse, depending on the specific VarietyVista convention. This triple classification (DDR + RDV + ODV) makes this die marriage one of the more heavily attributed pairings in the Kennedy half dollar variety catalog. Denver struck Kennedy half dollars in the 40% silver-clad composition through 1970, with the 1969-D representing the penultimate year of silver content in the denomination. Medium spread on stars, AMERICA, arrow shafts, and the designer's initials covers a broad swath of the reverse design, indicating a hub misalignment that affected the die face across its full working area. The arrow shafts held by the eagle provide particularly clear surfaces for detecting hub doubling, as the parallel shaft lines create a reference grid where even moderate displacement produces visibly doubled contours. Nine documented reverse doubled dies for the 1969-D date demonstrates sustained variety documentation for this late silver-clad issue.

Die Markers

• UVC-445
• DMR-016
• Stage A:
• Reverse and and Obverse are EMDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Ken Glickman
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References