It's probably a long shot but I have a 1964 washington that is enclosed in a sealed plastic holder. It is definitely either a proof or one of those SMS quarters, but I don't know how to distinguish between them. Help would be appreciated. Thanks. http://www.cointalk.org/gallery/showimage.php?i=697&c=2 http://www.cointalk.org/gallery/showimage.php?i=698&c=2 EDIT - MORE PICS http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...ofDSC04459.jpg http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...ofDSC04460.jpg http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...ofDSC04461.jpg http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...ofDSC04463.jpg
I thought durring those three years, that they made the SMS sets, they did not make "Proof Sets"" and "Mint Sets", but only SMS sets????
I think that the mint mistakenly stamped a handfull of 1964 proofs with the SMS dies/planchets, making the 1964 SMS. Could be wrong though. Here's a link to PCGS price guide, with 1964 SMS showing up at the bottom of the regular strikes list. http://www.pcgs.com/prices/frame.chtml?type=date&filename=washington_quarter
DJCOINS The silver is a beaut! I'm new & I'm "eavesdropping" on as many of these discussions to try to get "educated"... So... What is an SMS? patches
Hi patches, welcome to the forum. Here's some info about SMS coins that I got from PCGS: -------------------------------------------- Special Mint Set A set of special coins-neither business strikes nor Proofs-first struck in limited quantities in 1965 and officially released in 1966-1967- to replace Proof sets, which were discontinued as part of the U.S. Mint’s efforts to stop coin hoarding. The quality of many of the 1965 coins was not much better than that of business strikes-but by 1967, some Special Mint Set (SMS) coins resembled Proofs. In fact, the government admitted as much when it revealed how the 1967 issues were struck. In 1968, Proof coinage resume. There have been similar issues since; the 1994 and 1997 Matte-finish Jefferson nickels, for example, are frosted SMS-type coins. There also are a few known 1964 SMS coins, these likely struck as tests in late 1964 for the new 1965 SMS strikings. -------------------------------------------- The thing I don't know is how to distinguish between a regular proof and and SMS. Here are some more photos... http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w129/TopLineDmpls/CoinTalk/CopyofDSC04459.jpg http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w129/TopLineDmpls/CoinTalk/CopyofDSC04460.jpg http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w129/TopLineDmpls/CoinTalk/CopyofDSC04461.jpg http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w129/TopLineDmpls/CoinTalk/CopyofDSC04463.jpg
It's almost certainly a proof still in the original cellophane. I can't tell conclusively from the pictures though.
That's a good question. You won't find a definitive answer, at least not one that I know of. More than a few experts have argued over that point for years and many a coin has been attributed incorrectly.
