1972-S Doubled Die Reverse DDR-003

Description

Medium spread affects OF AMERICA, stars from the K-12 through K-4 clock positions, the arrows, and the designer's initials on DDR-003 from the 1972 San Francisco Mint Kennedy Half Dollar. Frank Gasparro's heraldic eagle reverse provides multiple diagnostic zones for confirming hub doubling, and the spread across stars spanning a wide arc of the design indicates substantial hub rotation during die manufacture. Die markers cataloged under UVC-456 and DMR-006 document three stages: Stage A with both reverse and obverse at Early Die State, Stage B at Mid Die State (unconfirmed), and Stage C at Late Die State (unconfirmed). San Francisco's 1972 Kennedy Half Dollar production included both business strikes and proofs — the S mintmark alone does not distinguish between them, and collectors should examine surface characteristics to determine which format their specimen represents. Gilroy Roberts' Kennedy portrait on the obverse and Gasparro's eagle on the reverse had been in production for eight years by 1972, and the die manufacturing process for this denomination generated its share of hub misalignment events. Cataloged by VarietyVista, DDR-003 is notable for the breadth of affected design elements — stars, legends, arrows, and initials all showing medium spread indicates a significant hub displacement that affects most of the reverse's peripheral design features simultaneously.

Die Markers

• UVC-456
• DMR-006
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References