hello everyone, ive been collecting for a while but i just haven't gotten any proofs and i really don't know much about cameos and ohter things. if you ccould post some pics of what to look for that would be great
How they are made is the coins struck twice with at least double the pressure coming down on the planchets from the dies. The dies are also hand fed into the collars instead of just machine fed and removed not ejected into bins. As to quality it depends on what years you are looking at. I'd say over 95% of all "current" silver proof and clad proofs are given ultra cameo=NGC or deep cameo dcam for short= PCGS) descriptions. So for the most part from at LEAST the late seventies when the mint changed their technology and upgraded their machines thus ensuring better quality and strike higher grades and deep/ultra cameos are the norm. Some argue that this starts in 1965 with the special mint sets. Proof coins before then could be a simple proof grade of say PF67 or you could get lucky and get a Cameo designation or even luckier and get a really nice ultra or dcam. Also grades of 68, 69 and 70 are few and far between in earlier dates. Many series have dates where PF67 or PF68 are simply the best out there. As for what to look for...mirrored area (black looking area) on the pic above is the field and the frosted part are the devices. This contrast is what makes a proof coin unique. The more the frosting stands out and apart from the black field is what makes it a dcam/ultra cameo or just a cameo. If you can barely tell them apart it will only get a PF and a grade. Proof grading is the same as mint state coins so the more scratches, spots, hairlines (which show up easier in the fields of a proof coin) you have and the worse they are the lower the grade. The only exception to this is when you go WAY back in series into things like Morgan dollars and early proof sets prior to WW2. The quality on those are all over the place and is why you have MS morgans receiving proof like (PL) and deep mirror proof like (DMPL) descriptions. Sometimes the proof just wasn't very apparent either due to poor strike or intentional (matte proof coins could be done intentionally with specially prepared planchets) like the burnished eagles or special proof coins are done today and appear at least as early as 1910's mostly in the wheat cent series. This is a good starting point and hopefully others can post plain proof, cameo or ultra cameo pics of silver washington quarters or franklin halves or even PL or DMPL Morgans.
search eBay for the word cameo. Look at the difference between the prices of pre-1970 cameos and ultra or deep cameos and modern cameos. The pictures of the higher prices coins will (generally) show the more desirable coins and what the cameo finishes will look like. Looking at coins is generally the best way to learn
