Refining my Kennedy collecting

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by John Anthony, Dec 27, 2012.

  1. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Thanks for that link - I'm going to print up some high-resolution pics of those coins and study them with my coins in hand.
     
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  3. cladking

    cladking Coin Collector

    I'm not sure this is true. I'm not sure it isn't either.

    Most slabbed Kennedys are going to be very high grade. They aren't worth the cost of grading unless they are the creme of the cream. No matter what it says on the slab most should be near the top. Some of these will be very expensive if they have a high enough grade and the "mistakes" will tend to be very cheap.

    Finding really nice Kennedys in mint sets is possible but not easy unless you have access to large numbers of sets. You can burn up a lot of shoe leather seeking a nice Gem '80-D without shallow gouges and a clean shield, for instance. Buying a 30 or 40 dollar slabbed coin might save money compared to looking in lots of sets. Don't take me wrong here; it's important to look at a lot of sets especially now before they are picked over just so you can see what these normally look like. With this information it's easier to properly evaluate slabbed coins. For instance if you look at only a few 1972 sets you'll see a very nice GEM Denver issue. You certainly wouldn't want to pay a lot for such a coin just because it's slabbed but by the same token you need to know to jump on an '80-D if it's nice, even if the price might seem a little steep.

    Assessing strike quality is quite easy on most moderns and especially Kennedys. The very last thing to strike up is the lettering and date around the periphery of the coin. These letters should stand high aboive the field and in cross section have a slightly rounded top on a perfect strike. In real life most will have some flat letters or won't be fully struck up. Dies and strikes vary so always glance at the other details to be sure they're present as well. Normally if the letters are full everything will be. Look at the top of the shield. These are almost invariably marked. Search for no marking or the lightest possible marking.

    If it's true that most cheap Kennedys in slabs are mistakes then there shouldn't be much loss busting them out.

    All silver kennedys except errors and the '70-D can be had for melt value and this is especially true for the '64. Finding nice 40%'ers is tough and rolls aren't as common as they used to be. The '70-D used to be easy enough in the set but this is one of the few sets that is picked over pretty heavily. The sm dt and gem 50c coins are mostly gone from the sets. Most of the tarnished 40% coins in mint sets can be cleaned with an alcohol/ acetone soak but about many can't.
     
  4. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Thanks cladking - I've got your advice copied as well, especially the advice about what to look for in strikes.
     
  5. Morgandude11

    Morgandude11 As long as it's Silver, I'm listening

    If you follow this advice, you will spend TWICE as much as if you went the mint set and raw route. All you have to do is be selective. There are very few dates that are expensive.
     
  6. Caleb

    Caleb Active Member

    How ever you want to collect Kennedy Half Dollars, the best advice I can give is to "have fun" :)

    or

    You could save your money and buy Franklins :devil:


    I will be leaving the set linked below open for awhile if you want to see what fun the variety side of the series is http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=1165
     
  7. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Good grief! Those varieties are endless. It's amazing that you've collected so many of them. I'm humbled.
     
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