Heya Folks, Yesterday I found this (what I now know to be a die clash) Kennedy half dollar in a roll from the bank. I am not a roll-searcher, but the tellers do tell me when people bring in rolls of halves or Ikes. Anyway, I was just blasting through them looking for silver. When I saw this one, the marks were noticeable by quick glance. I have never seen a die clash in hand, nor do I collect errors. I did do a little research on the interwebs, and now I have a couple questions. Are die clashes like this fairly common? Are die clashes consider "varieties", or errors? Is there any added value to this particular half dollar because of the clash? I don't think I need to point out the clash marks on the obverse. I haven't had a chance yet to look more closely at the reverse. Here is an overlay of a Kennedy that finally made me realize what it was. Thanks for any input, -greg
1982-P KD half there a few things worn dies strike thru or a clashed.die this one for an Expert.Wexler-Potter. or Mike D
That is a very nice obverse clash. Check out this site to learn more: http://www.maddieclashes.com/ Larry Nienaber
Thanks Larry. I did find that site and learned a thing or two. It doesn't mention anything about how rare they or how much of a clash would get a premium if any. I did see they had a few 1983 die clashes for the half dollar. -greg
this looks as if it has been a really strong die clash and some of the clash marks has probably been removed by the mint workers. I can see what looks like polishing marks above Kennedy's nose and on the back of the neck. It's still is a nice find .
Great find, Greg! I have an 82-P with the clash also, and I'm wondering if mine is a later die state (LDS) of yours. Mine has been heavily abraded to remove some of the clash, and the only part of it remaining are the rays below the neck. The rays under the chin are gone and it has the "Partial FG" on the reverse with the addition of a "Plugged Tail" which looks to be from a large die break. Chris
Clashes are fairly common and usually do not bring a premium. They aren't really an error, but they aren't really a variety either. They aren't an error because they appear on all the coins struck by that die until the clashmarks are either polished off or wear off. (Most pieces considered errors are striking errors and are unique for each coin.) They aren a variety because although they are reproduced on every coin struck by the die, they don't appear on coins struck by the die before it clashed, or after the clashmarks are removed. What they really are are a die stage in the life of that die. And a clashmark can not be used to identify a particular die because another die can clash and have identical or near identical clashmarks.
Thanks for the information everyone. At the very least I learned something new. Now I will keep my out for these in the future. I didn't expect it would be worth much, but I do find it very interesting. Oh wow Chris. What a difference in the details in the tail feathers. So was heavy die polishing the reason there are "no FG" Kennedy's ? Grabbed some U.S. mint images, rotated the reverse 180 degrees, lined them up and gave the reverse some transparency. Easy cheesy.
Correct! It takes some other marker to determine if any two clashes came from the same die. An example would be the 228 - 1980 Lincoln cents I found with a clashed "Y" from LIBERTY while searching a $50 Mint bag. All of the coins had the identical die scratches on the obverse which linked them to the clashed reverse. Naturally, it would be just a shot in the dark if Greg and I were able to find some common marker which linked our two coins together as possibly two die states. No, they wouldn't have any great value, but they are still kind of cool. Chris
Yes, in both cases, the 72-P and 82-P with the "No FG" were the result of die abrasion probably due to the Mint's attempts to remove the clashes. Chris
Here is an idea what a clashed half dollar might be worth...I sold this one on EBay. It was a 68D Major Obverse and Reverse Clash for $53. Larry Nienaber
Wow I found one just like this! https://www.cointalk.com/threads/crh-some-oddities-found-today-kennedys.251589/#post-1980202 Also here http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=186310#1718290 Neat Stuff!
