Hey - US Mint - Regarding the 4 Coin Kennedy Sets

Actually, when it come to the K13 set, the two I bought and received were to my surprise free of the problems I have experienced in the past with coins direct from the Mint. So each and every one of mine are free of such defects and pass muster, this time. I also found the Enhanced Unc to be my favorite of the set, much to my surprise. I only bought two sets but could also afford to buy more, but bought only what I thought I "needed" and left the remainder of my household limit to others to enjoy.

The point in my comments is pretty clearly stated about expectations meeting the levels the Mint has customers ramped up for and tends to express in their selling of the history of minting such a modern coin.

This is a modern coin, one of the iconic designs coveted and admired by so many collectors, and one of my own life and era as a collector that I've had the pleasure of knowing in my journey with coins. However, don't let my comments fool you.

I love earlier and older coins, most times, and not just because of the expense of Proofs from other eras, I prefer the circulated, worn and patina bearing coins of a long history spent in circulation, in bags taking hits and soiled in hands, pockets and tills. And I can deeply admire coins of antiquity, those crusted from sea wrecks and unearthed from hordes resurrected by metal dectorists and so on.

But when it comes to the Kennedy design, one intimately experienced in my hands as a younger person, buying things, earned in my travails, received in annual Proof sets with stunning proof mirrors and frosty devices, such a Modern piece MUST shine! To celebrate this coins design in its 50th year of inception, of a coin so intimately associated with a beloved personage slain in his prime and shining image, it must not fail and yet to have failed so easily as to have gone undetected in a collector form, under the nose of Quality Control, for such easy to spot problems that could have been culled and replaced with finer specimens on their way to adoring collectors, there is NO excuse for this.

I am but lucky to have gotten problem free coins, but I empathize for others who have experienced these problems with this set, as I have endured it with other coins bought direct from the United States Mint.

 

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We don't expect total perfection and most of us can tell the difference between the range of numerical grades approaching the subjective title of a 70. When you have more experience in this regard, it will be more apparent to you how we feel upon receiving things of this quality. Read deeply into the words I shared about expectations and where they originate, in the sales, marketing and trumpeting of the Mint's minting abilities and you may understand the degree to which our expectations have been crashed. So don't be so quick to judge others' feelings in this regard, especially if you haven't these specific coins to behold nor experience with the series to back up your lack of empathy we might express about them.

 

I could give a hoot less for receiving a '70 coin. I just want them problem free...........

 

I have one coming, however Im just keeping the UNC Denver, and you wont hear me complaining that its not perfect.

 

Time will tell. Let us know how you like it when it arrives, and make some pics to post with it if you can. Pics are always appreciated.

 

Well of mine I have one with scratches, that is one of 20...I am not too upset but I sure can understand some folks comments. One thing though, if they were all 70's then there would be less market, however I too expect 69's with the occasional 68. If one gets a 65, that is not cool at $25 a piece.

 

So, what do you think of the portrait of JFK on a lot of the packaging. I think it looks like a Chinese drawn portrait of a Caucasian – I bet it is.

 

I don't think anyone notably made it. It looks like someone with no design sense swiped it off an old Whitman blue coin folder. It looks old and lacks any WOW factor failing to live up to the lavishness of recent years past OGP or the elegance of Camelot.

 

I think its stupid. Its a stupid presentation, cheaply done, quickly done, and probably approved by someone who could really care less.

Frankly, it's a bit insulting and looks schizophrenic at the very minimum.
Totally whacked at the maximum.

What's even worse is for them to say that the coin has the original design on it!
Anybody with a comparative brain can see that it's not. It doesn't match either ODV-001 or ODV-002 by a mile in the hair department.

Put it into the "Dumbing Down of the American Coin Collector" file.

 

Yep, maybe they made the coins in China too.

 

I seriously doubt that since our US Mint Workers are adequately trained with producing junk and calling it perfect. Why bother the Chinese?

You see, the Problem with the US Mint and all its subsidiary operations is that, they have great ideas, they just have difficulty in executing them.
Too many folks have been there far too long to really care about what they do and are ready and willing to perform for a management team which hasn't been there long enough or perhaps , in being an "appointed" official, don't have the necessary experience to know what they are even approving much less doing!

My brother in law, who's just as qualified as Richard Peterson, thinks that a Morgan Dollar cleaned with a steel wool pad looks "perfect"!

 

Is the whiskey ration still in effect at the mint?

 

Anyone have an enhanced without the lines? Even the 70's on eBay have them.

 

the mint already upgrade most of the coin to 69 and 70 area. what more you guys want. the mint did not say they gonna sell a perfect coin to us at a certain amount. like a four coin set at $99.95. in the old days. ms 63 more or less. you will be very happy. usually is ms 60.

 

I ahve one of 5 that looks great, could not find the lines.....maybe I need to look again as maybe I missed them. That being said I looked and picked it as the best. I will go through my sets and put the best 4 in one set, but no time now..

 

I'm perfectly happy with the quality of the coins in my set. I don't expect perfection, but like others noted, you don't expect "handling" issues on the coins in an anniversary set.

I've already posted this somewhere, but I was completely underwhelmed by this set. The packaging/presentation design is 3rd rate compared to the ASE anniversary packaging. I know we ordered coins, but the presentation is also important in a set like this.

I only ordered one. I wanted to have it in hand before deciding on a second. I won't be ordering another.

 

One of my two sets is going back today. That set includes the reverse proof with gunk on the chin, the regular proof with debris on the obverse field and a cracked capsule, and the enhanced uncirculated with pronounced hairlines across the reverse field and "stripes" across the obverse portrait. I'll try to post pictures later.

There was a WORLD of difference between the two enhanced-unc coins I got. I was willing to believe the "scratches" were just part of the finish, but one coin showed them prominently, and one barely showed them at all.

The standard-uncirculated coins were both pretty nice.

I'm still thinking of trying my luck with more sets. I really like the look of these (except for the reverse proof, but that's just me), and I have reason to expect that I can get them with reasonable quality. (1 for 2 is much better than the 0 for 5 I saw with the gold proofs.)

BTW, I agree with @jpcienkus -- the packaging is really disappointing. But I really don't care much about the packaging. The gold proof packaging was pretty nice; I didn't care about that, either.

 

I am really happy with mine, I didn't see any problems on/with my two sets. I definitely think I pulled a muscle trying to pry them out with my thumbs though...ouch...should I sue for pain and suffering?

Do agree on most of the points brought up about packaging, and the "scratches" on the enhanced uncirculated though.

 

I order 4 set and I had to sent back 2 cause of the rub on the enhance Kennedy on the reverse that looks like someone use a metal scrubber and try to clean the coin. Yes I do agree with some of you about that scratches for this coin on the reverse. The enhance doesn't look anything like the enhance for the Silver Eagles at all. What is up with that ??

 

Did you ever figure out what that was? Looks like a retained strikethrough.