1972-S Doubled Die Obverse DDO-002

Description

Second in the obverse doubled die census for the 1972-S Kennedy half dollar, DDO-002 presents light spread on IN GOD WE TRUST and the Y of LIBERTY on Gilroy Roberts' portrait of President Kennedy. VarietyVista assigned identifiers UVC-204 and DMR-003, documenting three die stages with full confirmation across the production arc: Stage A where both obverse and reverse surfaces are at early die state, Stage B where both have progressed to mid die state, and Stage C where both have reached late die state. The confirmed EDS, MDS, and LDS stages provide collectors with a complete die wear progression — a relatively uncommon level of documentation that establishes specimens exist at every major point in the die's working life. The comments identify the obverse as ODV-003 and the reverse as RDV-004, assigning both sides of this die marriage specific design variant classifications that provide independent attribution points beyond the hub doubling itself. San Francisco struck proof Kennedy half dollars in 1972 with a proof set mintage of approximately 3.26 million sets. The 1972-S date was struck in 40% silver-clad composition for the proof version, one of the final years of silver-content Kennedy half dollar proof production before the switch to copper-nickel clad proofs in 1976. Light spread on IN GOD WE TRUST and the Y of LIBERTY indicates subtle doubling that benefits from the proof surface contrast — mirror fields behind the frosted letters create ideal viewing conditions for detecting secondary impressions. The dual ODV/RDV classification adds collecting depth by documenting design variant characteristics on both dies. Collectors should examine the motto and the terminal letter of LIBERTY under 15-20x magnification on proof surfaces where the light spread is most readily apparent against the mirrored background.

Die Markers

• UVC-204
• DMR-003
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles, confirmed as WH by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References