Post your Kennedy Halves!!

I think you're right. I'm looking through my coins from the early 90s and there's a gradual progression of flattening-out the devices. By 1993, the design is completely low-relief. I don't know if the changes had anything to do with creating a coin that would wear less during circulation though - perhaps.

I do know that the mint had consistent problems with the copper-nickel clad planchets striking properly, throughout the 70s and 80s. You find a lot of weakly-struck coins during those decades, simply because nickel is such a hard metal. In particular, the Philadelphia mint coins are struck weaker than the Denver mint coins, especially in certain years. A well-struck 71-P, for instance, is both rare and highly desirable. Perhaps Denver just had higher tonnage presses.

So the lower-relief design is probably an effort at quality control more than anything, regardless of the aesthetics - you certainly get much crisper coins coming off the presses starting in the 90s.

 

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Here's my analysis grid for 1990s Kennedy Halves.
I went through 1000 of them to assemble this.

Contrary to what I thought before, the change appears to have occurred circa 1991; however I was unable to come up with an adequate number of good examples from that year. So make of this what you will!



I still think there was more than one modification, FWIW.

 

I didn't know the year, but I decided to look after you said 1991. It's pretty obvious now that you mention it. I took some new shots while I was at it.

Comparison:


1990 P



1990 D - I never noticed the die polish lines on the right field.





1991 P



1991 P



1991 D

 

Thanks for those super high-quality images. No lie, this has been an awesome experience for me. I almost feel as though we've added a bit to existing knowledge! Of course others must have been aware of it (the engravers for instance) but before I posted in this thread I first searched Goog and wasn't able to learn a thing.* So it looks like 1991 was the watershed.

As John Anthony said (and showed) above though, they clearly kept tweaking the design a bit and by the mid 2000s it's yet another animal. I find the variations fascinating.

SO! That's one box of 1000 halves. I have three more

This one yielded nine silvers (including a 63 and a 64) and a good number of gem-quality specimens, mostly from the mid and late 90s. One oddity--a 2007, which IIRC was never in general circulation.

My other boxes can wait--that's enough for now. Two of them I've had since 2003 and they're largely full of MS 2002 rolls, so of less interest. I never return anything to the bank btw

*Edit: So NOW I find it!

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2578544

 

Ok I have to post again. Here is my Accented Hair Kennedy. These were the sellers images. I got this coin back in 2010

 

Gem!!
There only one thing about the heavy hair 1964 Proof is not to many are Deep Cameo or Cameo.
.my2c.

 

Just plucked this out of a 1967SMS set the other day. My local dealer got 25 of these in an original, unopened box that came from the mint. I was the first person to look through it. Its kinda beat up considering that it has been untouched in over 40 years. You don't run across these cameos that often but when you do, you gotta save them.

 

Now I'll have to dig it out and take my own pics of this coin. I never thought it would be deep cameo. Just goes to show ya.

 

I'm not sure he was commenting on your coin - just a general observation. But by all means, check it out. Cameo accented hairs are rare.

 

This one I sold off about 2-3yr ago to R&I coins
It was regraded by Pcgs Pr-68DCam I am Rick listed @ 3x More than sold to him @
I just wish I had not deleted the Closeups of it.

 

It's a nice coin Angelo, but 68CAM is a mid-level grade for a 1969 proof. You didn't lose a huge amount of money. The 69s go all the way up to one graded at 70DCAM - PCGS calls that a $10K coin.

 

My two best 90% halfs and my first attempt at a scan.




And a cam pic:

 

The next, more subtle change I see is that the size of the bust was reduced again, in 1995 as near as I can tell. Probably some of you Kennedy experts can tell me more. The weird thing is that the relationship of the bust to the lettering doesn't seem to have shifted as much as I'd expect. I guess it was all done with computers by then. As an aside, I note so many tiny variations that if these were Morgans we'd all be calling them counterfeit

 

..

 

1969 S 50 cents PF 69 ultra cameo.
Yup. Go drool on jealousy.

 

Found this today

 

From the 2001 Mint Proof Set.

 

Just got this beautiful 68 proof.