1971-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-007

Description

Proof specimens of the 1971-S Kennedy Half Dollar carrying DDO-007, cataloged by VarietyVista as UVC-187 with DMR-009, show a light spread on the date, "LIBERTY," and "IN GOD WE TRUST," with the strongest doubling concentrated on "TRUST" and the letter B of "LIBERTY," extending into the nearby hair curls of Kennedy's portrait. The selective strength pattern — strongest on TRUST and B — indicates the hub doubling pivot point was positioned such that these design areas fell furthest from the axis of rotation or lateral shift, maximizing the separation in those zones while producing only light spread elsewhere. This variety is identified as a proof issue with obverse die variety ODV-002, connecting it to a specific obverse die within VarietyVista's Kennedy Half Dollar die variety framework. Three die stages are cataloged: Stage A shows both obverse and reverse in Early Die State; Stages B (MDS) and C (LDS) are both unconfirmed. The 1971-S Kennedy Half Dollar holds a special place in proof collecting as the first year that proof halves were struck exclusively in copper-nickel clad — the 40% silver clad composition used for San Francisco proof halves from 1965 through 1970 was discontinued, making the 1971-S the beginning of the modern clad proof half dollar era. San Francisco produced 3,220,733 proof sets in 1971. Seven doubled die obverses documented for this date demonstrates the thorough examination these proofs have received. The extension of doubling into the hair curls near the letter B provides a secondary attribution zone that helps confirm DDO-007 identity even on specimens where the light spread on other text elements is ambiguous.

Die Markers

• UVC-187
• DMR-009
• 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