1964D Prooflike Quarter

I was recently trawling Ebay, looking for something sweet to buy. I happened upon this coin, and I was very surprised to see it. Prooflike coins from 1964 are quite rare - and this particular seller had 2 of them! I bought one, and finally got to take pictures of it today.

This coin is graded NGC 64 PL. It isn't a very high grade coin - but it is the correct grade. There are 4 quarters designated from the Denver mint in 1964 (2 in 64, and one each 65 and 66). I had never actually seen one in person before this one arrived a couple of days ago.

In hand, the obverse mirrors are quite strong. The reverse mirrors are weaker, especially in certain areas around the eagle's head and under the wings. However, the obverse practically shines in the dark.

This is a fantastic coin, and it joins a host of other prooflike coins. I'd like to compare this coin, however, to my other 1964 - a Kennedy graded 64*. I recently sent the Kennedy in for designation review because I think it is fully PL, but NGC didn't agree. So, I just have a star.

Anyways, both of these 1964 coins have mirrors which are quite different from other eras. The mid-20th century prooflike coins are characterised by heavy die polish. These 1964 coins do have some polish evident, but it is much more subtle. The die polish is quite light, comparatively. This gives these coins a much more striking mirror finish - much closer to an actual proof than the S mint coins of the 30's-50's.

I hope you enjoy these coins. If you have any prooflikes from the 1960's, go ahead and post them!

 

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Interesting. I have a prooflike 64d quarter I will be submitting to a TPG soon. Found it in a lot and showed a few collectors who agree it should get the PL designation. It’s raw currently.

 

Nice pick up to join your set!!

 

Nice coins Physics
I have always been confused by the PL designation on the 60's silver.
I have run across quite a few that have a PL appearance, but am still confused about how mirrored they need to be.
How mirrored are they when side by side with an actual proof 64 Kennedy or Washington?

 

I read and supported your thread over on the PCGS board about getting PCGS to attribute the PL/DMPL designation on all US coins. I really hope this happens.

Here is the only Non-Morgan PL that I have. I have yet to send it in, but I know it would get the PL designation. It looked just like the 1969-S Proof and I honestly thought it was a proof among the other 40% halves, until I saw the D mm.

 

First of all, that is a great looking PL Quarter!
And your coin is equally nice @jtlee321 !

My question is, why petition PCGS to add the PL/DMPL for non-Morgans? Resale value? PCGS seems to be lukewarm at best on the idea (in the Q&A it was said to not be a priority). NGC has realized the importance of these coins and will give the designation to any coin that is deserving.

 

Jason you have an eye for PL's. I love the prominent flow lines in the fields of PL Coins, and this one is no exception. Metal flow is just gorgeous!!!! Flow lines make it look like a coin is just RADIANT!!!

 

Great looking Quarter.

 

More options, mostly. I buy most of my coins over the internet, and can't examine them in hand. I have no hesitation buying a PCGS coin (and paying a premium for prooflike mirrors) if I can see it in hand and I'm confident in the mirrors.

But, if the PCGS coin is already labelled as PL, it makes finding the ones I want easier. Yes, I could look through a thousand seated halves and search for what I want - but it is so much easier to just filter out the 3 that are PL and look at those. It is the same with NGC - I could look at 400 barber quarters. Or, I could look at the 2 which are labelled prooflike.

 

Wow, that obverse appears to be extremely reflective. Very nice! I think you have a very strong chance of getting PL on that one.

 

NGC doesn't really have a clearly defined and published standard, which is something that I've mentioned a few times to them. It's basically "a few inches" of reflectivity, which means that a reflection is clear and crisp from a few inches away.

As for comparing them to proofs.... that's tricky. The mirrors have a very different character. Proof mirrors will have flowlines, but they don't have die polish - they are more "glassy". While the die polish is more subtle on these coins than the San Francisco coins of the 40's, there is still noticeable die polish. I would say that the obverse of both of these compares to a proof struck from older dies, one that has weaker mirrors. But the "feel" of them is quite different, if that makes any sense.

 

I like that the die polish lines aren't as heavy as it often is on the PL San Francisco coins from the 1940s and 1950s.

 

I would send it back again in the future. It is probably close to a $2k coin if it did PL.

 

For me it comes down to personal choice. I don't mind the current holders that PCGS uses, but I am not a fan of the current NGC holders. If I have to send it to NGC, that what I will do, but I would prefer the PCGS holder. I don't plan to sell my Kennedy Half, so it's not really a financial incentive at this point, just an aesthetics choice.

Now if I could get it in a time machine and placed into an NGC no line fatty, well I'd probably send all of my coins in to NGC.

 

The reverse has heavier die polish lines than the obverse, so they show up a little better in the images.

I'm surprised your '64 did not get the PL designation. Do they crack it out of the holder for designation review?

 

No.

They do not crack it out for designation review, and they do not crack it out for crossover unless the coin crosses.

 

That may have been the reason they did not give it the PL designation. Maybe it was too close for them to call in the plastic. I am not too familiar with their services. Do they offer a regrade? Where they will crack it out and regrade it raw with the guarantee not to come back lower? If so, this would probably be the best chance of getting the PL designation.

 

There is no option like that.
There is a reholder (crack and place in a new holder with the same grade...no grading is done).

I doubt the TPGs would consider a crack and regrade raw with a promise of no downgrade as it would open up too many liabilities (in their mind). For example, if they find rim damage or something else that downgrades the coin, then that creates an awkward situation.

 

I used the wrong words. Sorry for the confusion. I was thinking along the lines of what PCGS used to offer. They had a regrade service where the coin was removed from the holder and regraded as raw. If the coin dropped in grade, the grade guarantee would kick in and the submitter would be compensated for the difference in value on the downgrade. If the coin goes up in grade, the submitter would pay a 1% Grade Guarantee Premium in addition to the grading fee.

I guess that service has now been replaced with their "Reconsideration" service. They don't crack the holder and the regrade the coin still in the plastic. So the coin won't downgrade, but if it goes up by at least 1 point, then the "Grade Guarantee Premium" kicks in.

So yeah, you're right, PCGS does not do that anymore. I was not sure if NGC had a similar service that PCGS used to have.

 

Actually I just looked again and I was incorrect. NGC does offer a service like you mentioned-it's called "Regrade."
This seems more for the grade, but it could be useful for checking PL/DMPL as a raw coin won't have any obstruction from the holder (like you mentioned).

https://www.ngccoin.com/submit/services-fees/

"If you disagree with a grade assigned by NGC, you may submit the coin for review for a higher grade. The coin must be intact in its NGC holder. Choose a grading tier according to the coin’s value and desired turnaround time. Coins are graded according to NGC’s grading standards, and a higher grade is not guaranteed. Fees are not refundable if a higher grade is not received. Coins submitted for ReGrade will be removed from their NGC holder by NGC staff and encapsulated with a new NGC holder, label and certification number, even if the grade doesn’t change. Coins submitted under ReGrade are guaranteed not to receive a lower grade"