I want to know if I can clean the coin. It looks to have a problem spot in the back and around the rim of the coin. And one more question, would this be an ok grade if it is dirty?
Do not clean it. Also, the value of this 1964 Kennedy does not justify the grading costs. It is worth it's silver content.
Myself, and two others replying to your thread, believe your coin has already been cleaned and as such, it looks damaged from the cleaning. Because it's damaged, it won't receive a numerical grade, from any TPG. One of the worse mistakes people make regarding toned or dirty coins, is cleaning them actually makes them more valuable, when the contrary is true and it de-values the coin instead. It's a nice looking Kennedy but for the cleaning, but only worth melt.
Hard to say from those pics if it has been cleaned. You see a lot of die polish on the 1964 halves... so this might what everyone is seeing. It's possible that it hasn't been cleaned.
Maybe I am reading the OP incorrectly but I think he was asking if the coin would still be in reasonable condition even though it is dirty. I don't think he was asking if he should send the coin to a TPG to have it graded. TPGs are not the only ones that grade coins. Dealers and collectors do it every day.
Thanks, I've had these coins for ages. I started since 1964 or most of my coins before that when I was a little girl. Just silver coins and nickels and very few foreign. This one was shiner than the others I have. The reason I asked about grading was I don't understand it. Its ok though. I don't know much about them anyway. I asked about cleaning too because of the other coins, I started putting them in protectors but I have bags of these coins, I wouldn't know where to start. I was hoping out all the years of collecting as a kid, I got lucky with one coin. Hubby said its time to get rid of them. They have been just sitting there for 40 yrs. Thanks. I may have a few more questions before I part with them though.
1964 was the last year the U.S. Mint used 90% silver, .36169 ounces, in any circulating coin they produced. In 1965, the only coin denomination with silver was the Kennedy half, and the amount was reduced from 90% to 40%, .1479 ounces. So if you have numerous 64's the melt value is $12.88 each, at the current price of $35.63. It might actually be worth searching them all and looking for high MS ones and separating them out from the ones worth only melt.
