Ok first of all I have purchased some Kennedy's etc and now that the ANA has provided some books for my use I have tried to use my very primitive skills to see just what I have. I am not doing so well so I am asking for some expertise to chime in. I have in my hands two books that I am trying to use to understand these. I will be posting a few coins to discuss and learn with..the 1964P will be in another thread. First up is this one a 1964D: its seems straight forward but I see only Die Varieties and not any doubling in the label, yet the pictures show it is there..Closeups attached. The doubling can be seen on the "Y" of Liberty for sure, yet the attribution does not list it or does it? The Kennedy book lists the following, DMR = Die Marriage Registry - (DMR-001) ODV = Obverse Design Variety - (ODV-002) RDV = Reverse Design Variety - (RDV-001) So looking through the books. I find what I think to be the correct one on page 101 of the Kennedy Half Dollar Book. Called 1964D-UVC-39,DMR-1,ODV-002, MDO-002,RDV-001,MDR-001 URS27 MS65 Straight G "says normal coins" so must not be special in any way. If I understand a URS number of 27 means millions of them. I find what I think to be the correct one on page 92 of the Treasure Hunting Kennedy Halves Book. Called DDO-006. This is the only one I can find in this book that is close and if so then a DDO-006 should be special right? If I am right then this slabbed coin is not in this book.
While I can't speak about ANACS' attribution policies, I can tell you that there are some varieties that NGC will not attribute simply because they are only visible under magnification. For example, I had four of the Accented Hair DDO's, FS-103, that they wouldn't attribute for that reason. Chris
Well that makes no sense but I guess I understand it. That sucks actually because a lot of coins you can not see these things with the naked eye.
I think if you go through many of the sites that provide their own attributions, like CONECA does, you'll probably find hundreds of examples that are not attributed by NGC & PCGS. Chris
NGC attributes the 1964 FS-103, if you sent four coins in maybe they weren't the DDO-015 (FS-103). The 1964 FS-103 isn't that hard to attribute.
This occurred several years ago, and when I resubmitted them to Scott Schechter for review, the answer I was given was that if they can't see it without magnification, they wouldn't attribute it. These were definitely FS-103, and I sold them as such. Chris
Getting back to the OP original question, the mistake you are making is trying to use two books by two different authors together. Wexler and Wiles each has their own standards as to what makes the “cut” before a coin is classified as a doubled die. From my limited experience, I’m still trying to figure what Wiles uses for a standard. We have sent some coins into Wiles and he has confirmed as an already listed variety or given a new listing to the coin. We have also sent other coins in that we thought had stronger spreads in the doubling then others that were all ready listed only to have them returned with the dreaded observation “Too minor to list.” Wexler on the other hand, like my dad tells me, reminds us as Mikey from the old LIFE cereal commercials (the ones that had the punch line “Give it to Mikey, he eats everything”). When it comes to doubled dies, dad tells me “Send it to Wexler, he will list anything”. A standard joke a group that collects with us uses is: “If the eagle on the reverse of the Kennedy half dollar had a flea on it and the flea had a cataract on one of his eyes, Wexler would probably list it”. Looking at the coin the OP posted, if you check the CONECA Master Listings for DMR-001: http://www.varietyvista.com/Variety%20Master%20Listings/kennedy%20doubled%20dies%201964.htm#_1964-D 1964-D MDO-002 Designation: MD-2-O-II-C (P, D, PR) Description: Light spread on WE TRUST, 64 of date, TY of LIBERTY, and hair under R of LIBERTY Grade: MS65 Population: Markers: ODV-002 (Normal hair) Strength of doubling will vary depending upon hub and die state UVC-039 DMR-001 Reverse is RDV-001 (Straight G) UVC-040 DMR-002 Reverse is RDV-002 (Flared G) Reported by: John A. Wexler There is some doubling going on but it is “Master Doubling” or involved on more then one die. If the OP wants to collect by Wexler numbers, knock your self out, have fun, the OP should collect the way he wants to or anyone else for that matter. Just realize that Wiles and Wexler each has their own standards on what makes a doubled die.
