I found a couple of these recently. They're in circulated condition. I think the years are 1971 and 1980. They don't look TOO bad. Lots of little scratches but they're both pretty shiny.
What you have is a "proof coin" that has somehow found it's way into circulation. "S" mint Kennedy's were produced for proof sets and not for general circulation. It would seem that some errant Young person may have broken into Daddy's collection for ice cream or burger money... Value? Not much I suspect, but I'll defer to others. Welcome to the forum :smile
Thanks. Yeah I don't think they're worth much but I'd like to be sure before I throw a 1 dollar coin in with a bunch of halfs. So any coin marked with S is a proof? I did some googling and found that proof coins are minted specifically for collectors and are double struck, right?
The San Francisco mint has only produced proofs since the early seventies, so any coin from that period and onward will be proof coins, but many coins minted in the preceding decades with the S mark are regular circulation strikes.
Proof coins are indeed made for collectors. "a specially produced coin made from highly polished planchets and dies and often struck more than once to accent the design. Proof coins receive the highest quality strike possible and can be distinguished by their sharpness of detail and brilliant, mirror-like surface". That, from the US Mint web site glossary. A wonderful online resource....wwwusmint.gov, but I strongly urge you to do more than work the good old "google" machine. Visit your public library and get hands on "hard copies" of coin resources. May I suggest for starters, The Red Book, A guide to United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman. You may want to purchase this volume as I have found it invaluable in my collecting experience.
