Bicentennial half dollars

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by bugo, Feb 27, 2014.

  1. bugo

    bugo Well-Known Member

    What are all of the varieties of bicentennial half dollars? I know of these:

    D clad business strike
    P clad business strike
    S silver business strike (NIFC)
    S silver proof
    S clad proof

    Am I missing any? I want to put together a complete collection of bicey halves, quarters, and Ikes. I already have the quarters.
     
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  3. MKent

    MKent Well-Known Member

    I think that is it but I'm not sure. I too just started on a PCGS graded set of the Bicentennial coins I have purchased 5 so far because I am being patient waiting for the best coin for the money. I actually purchased all 3 Ike dollar proofs in one auction graded PR69DCAM for $36 a real bargain I thought. I have the clad quarter PR69DCAM and the clad Half PR69DCAM. I am going to buy the silvers in PR69DCAM and work on the MS graded coins there is 5 dollars and 3 each of the quarter and half I believe. I hope an expert will read this and shed more light. I;m not looking for doubled dies or rare varieties but if I'm missing something I want to know. Also some of the MS coins are pretty pricey so I'm not going to go with a 63 just to finish a set but I'm not going to go broke on an average coin thats over graded either. Good luck with your set and post some pics of your coins I'd like to see them.
     
  4. coinhead63

    coinhead63 Not slabbed yet

    The Ikes, if you include var. 1 & 2 (P&D in Unc and S clad in Proof and S silver clad in Proof and Unc.) comes out to 8 different coins not including the '76 silver clad var. 2 for which there's no mintage data and is most likely extremely rare. As for the Half and quarter, there are 5 of all proof and unc. total each. This totals an 18 coin set to be "complete" and 19 if you count the '76 plain silver clad var. 2.
     
  5. rickmp

    rickmp Frequently flatulent.

    Ikes are dollars, not half dollars.
     
  6. coinhead63

    coinhead63 Not slabbed yet

    Well duh! Please read my reply again as it was to also help out another member who mentioned wanting to do a complete dollar, half and quarter set for the bicentennials.
     
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  7. Prime Mover

    Prime Mover Active Member

    You can forget about the 1976 "no s", I believe there's one graded by PCGS and it's valued at $150k. :)

    You'll be able to find most of the business strike coins in decent grades (MS-65 under $40) for very reasonable, and you can get the 76-S in MS-66 usually for under $50, MS-67 under $100. The one that's pricey is the '76-P Ty1, in MS-65 that will run you close to $150 or more, as that's one of the key dates.

    I would strive for a set in the mostly MS-65 range for looks at a very good price. Go MS-64 for the P-Ty1 and you can probably complete the whole 18 coin set in PCGS plastic for under $400. Might even be able to do the NGC set for under $300 in the "same" grades.

    I'll toss up some pics when I get a chance. I know you posted in the Ike thread, but not sure if you read any of the back thread history, there's quite a collection of really beautiful Ikes there.
     
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  8. MKent

    MKent Well-Known Member

    I have read some of the IKE thread and actually follow it even though I'm not an IKE collector. I have given some thought to a IKE set because these were the silver dollars I grew up with and my nephew loves the big coins. I may go back and review some of the pictures on there I find them educational and the knowledge of specialty collectors is priceless. I am very impressed by the amount of research some people put into their collections. How many Ikes would be considered a complete set? Without getting into the no s or other rare varieties.
     
  9. Prime Mover

    Prime Mover Active Member

    19 for circulation strike, 11 proofs for the "basic" sets. A "complete" with all varieties is 42 coins.

    Not to hijack the thread with pics of only Ikes, but it's my main collection focus at the moment:
     

    Attached Files:

  10. rickmp

    rickmp Frequently flatulent.

    Mea culpa! I missed that.
     
  11. cladking

    cladking Coin Collector

    There's also the '76-S Unc run off on high speed presses.

    The coin is so ugly people usually don't consider it so much distinct as simply ugly.
     
  12. bugo

    bugo Well-Known Member

    Whoa, tell me more about this coin. Is it cupronickel or 40%? Is it a proof? Got any pictures of it?
     
  13. cladking

    cladking Coin Collector

    These are pretty well known but ignored because they're ugly. As the production of the 40% sets was winding down in July, '76 (IMS) the mint reinterpreted the authorizing legislation as mandating 14 million coins rather than limiting production to this number. With time quickly running out they cut dies and ran out huge numbers of 40% Unc coins for the three piece sets and dumped them in steel drums which appear to have been then rolled to Tucson and back. The coins are poorly made on gh speed presses and banged up. The stockpiles of the nice sets were sold out before these started being sold probably in '77 or late '76. These new sets were packaged like the old ones but the plastic sleeve had no white stripe. These remained on sale untol they began gettting melted around 1981. Indeed, for a very brief period in 1979 they neglected to raise the price fast enough to keep up with rising silver pricesand sets could be purchased at near melt value. For this reason and because the coins are ugly almost the entire mintage was melted.

    Today they remain the red headed step child but this might change in the future when collectors realize they are distinctly different.
     
  14. bugo

    bugo Well-Known Member

    Sounds like my kind of coin! What search terms should I use when searching for one?
     
  15. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    And this was the correct interpretation, the authorizations clearly states "shall mint prior to July 4th 1975 for issuance on or after that date, 45 million silver-clad alloy coins..." It doesn't may mint up to, is says that they SHALL mint, which makes it mandatory.
     
  16. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title] Supporter

  17. dwhiz

    dwhiz Collector Supporter

  18. dwhiz

    dwhiz Collector Supporter

  19. cladking

    cladking Coin Collector

    I think the white stripe is just hidden in the picture at the top.

    The high speed press strikes stand out like sore thumbs. They aren't pretty at all.

    They usually trade at a discount because people pass them up for pretty coins. They're still getting melted prefentially to the nice sets.
     
  20. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title] Supporter

    I'm pretty sure the photo of the back shows the whole package and there is no white. I could be wrong though.
     
  21. quarter-back

    quarter-back Active Member

    Sorry to revive an older thread, but this high-speed issue intrigues me. Is there any correlation between the high-speed coins and the type 2 ikes?
     
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