For those of you who search through rolls of Half Dollar coins or for those of you who may have some Kennedy Halves in your collection, there may be more to them then meets the eye. While many people look for the silver content pieces that occasionally appear, you can discover even more hidden treasures by looking very closely at the smaller details. A good jeweler’s loupe is a great help when examining some of the smaller devices on these coins.

There are many rare and exciting die varieties that can be found on Kennedy Half Dollars. There are Doubled Dies, Tripled Dies and even Quadrupled Dies that can be located if you know what to look for. On the OBVERSE, one of the best places to look for the effects on a coin of having been struck by a die with multiple images is the “IN GOD WE TRUST” motto. If you examine the pictures carefully, you will see the signs of the type of doubling that is very much sought after by collectors.

1964 D Quadrupled Die Obverse - Kennedy Half Dollar - WE

You can see what we call “SPLIT SERIFS” as extra points on the upper portion of the W of WE. You can see the “GROOVES” that run through the letters (especially visible on the 1964 D QDO [Quadrupled Die Obverse] pictured below). And you can see what we call “NOTCHES” that are visible where the overlapping of letters occurs. Notches are visible at the upper and lower portions of letters where the overlapping occurs and they look like little cuts at the “corners” of the letters.

1964 D - Quadrupled Die Obverse - Kennedy Half Dollar

There are also characteristics that we can look at to see if if a Kennedy Half dollar might be one of many doubled die reverse, die varieties.

1969 D Doubled Die Reverse - Kennedy Half Dollar - Doubled Stars

On the REVERSE of the coins, you can look for DOUBLED RAYS or STARS. On some coins, you can see nice doubling on the lettering. The easiest things to spot are grooves on the letters. You can see a nice groove on the last S in the word STATES.

1969 D Doubled Die Reverse - Kennedy Half Dollar

There are varieties on all the silver and silver clad issues as well as many of the copper-nickel clad pieces. Many are aware of the 1974 D DDO (Doubled Die Obverse) as it is listed in “A Guide Book of UNITED STATES COINS” by R.S. Yeoman and edited by Kenneth Bressett but there are some other nice ones to be found. To identify specific Die Varieties, you may want to consider purchasing the “CHERRYPICKERS’ GUIDE to RARE DIE VARIETIES of UNITED STATES COINS” 4th Edition by Fivaz and Stanton. This book is in two volumes. Volume I edited by Mike Ellis includes coins from Half Cents through Nickels and Volume II with a Foreward by Q. David Bowers contains coins staring with Half Dimes and ending with varieties on Twenty Dollar Gold Pieces. Volume II also includes a small section on varieties to be found on Commemorative Half Dollars.

1974 D Doubled Die Obverse - Kennedy Half Dollar

Good Luck In Your Searches! You may be able to find some nice die varieties as you look through your Kennedy half Dollars!