1970-S Doubled Die Reverse WDDR-006

Description

Sixth in the documented sequence of DDR varieties for the 1970-S proof Kennedy half dollar, WDDR-006 extends the already substantial census of reverse hub doubling events from this historically significant final year of silver-clad proof production. The Wexler Team attributed this variety as 1970-S 50¢ Pr WDDR-006, with no additional cross-references or die markers recorded for either obverse or reverse. The six documented DDR varieties for the 1970-S proof half (WDDR-001 through WDDR-006) represent one of the highest concentrations of reverse hub doubling for any single date-mint combination in the Kennedy series, suggesting that the proof die manufacturing conditions at San Francisco in 1970 were particularly conducive to reverse hub misalignment. Each variety documents a distinct die that received hub impressions at slightly different alignments, producing unique doubling patterns that are individually cataloged despite sharing a common origin date and mint. The 2,632,810 proof sets struck in 1970 were the last to contain a 40% silver half dollar, as the 1971 proof sets would introduce the copper-nickel clad composition that continues to the present. This terminal-year status has made 1970-S proof sets consistently popular with collectors, and the availability of six distinct DDR varieties within a single date provides variety specialists with multiple targets to pursue. The proof striking process, with its deliberate, slow press operation and multiple die impressions per coin, often produced specimens where hub doubling is more crisply defined than on business strikes, potentially making these proof DDR varieties easier to detect and authenticate.

Attribution History

• Wexler Variety ID: 1970-S 50¢ Pr WDDR-006
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References