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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 1377481, member: 112&quot;]You misunderstand. It&#039;s not that no (meaning 0) examples of deep cameo exist, it&#039;s that they are so scarce that it is extremely unlikely that you will ever find one - for certain years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s the deal. All Proof coins, clear back to the beginning, with the exceptions of the Matte and Satin Proofs, were designed to have the cameo effect. The thing that creates the cameo effect is the way the dies are prepared. The fields are polished smooth until they shine like a mirror. The devices, legends, date etc. are made rough by sandblasting, acid etching, or use of a laser. What this does is make the surface of the devices have a very fine pebbled surface. It is this pebbled surface that creates the look of frost on the devices. And it is the contrast of the mirror finish of the fields against the frost finish of the devices that gives us what we call cameo, or deep cameo.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, what happens is this. The first few coins struck with the new Proof dies are all deep cameo. When I say few that may be a hundred or several hundred. But as each additional coin is struck the metal flow of the planchet against the die causes the die to wear. After those first few deep cameo coins are struck the dies exhibit some wear and the next coins struck are cameo. But as the die continues to wear the cameo effect is totally lost because the metal flowing against the die wears that rough, pebbly surface smooth. And then the surface of the devices become brilliant much like the fields.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now here&#039;s the kicker. Prior to 1973 the mint did not care if all of the Proof coins were cameo or not. As the dies wore they would just keep on striking coins with the worn dies. So what we ended up with was just a few deep cameo coins, a few more cameo coins, and then all the coins struck after that were brilliant.</p><p><br /></p><p>But in 1973 the mint changed their policy. From then on, as the dies wore to the point that the coins began to lose the cameo effect, the dies were replaced with new dies, and/or resurfaced dies. So that all of the Proof coins had the cameo effect.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, with any Proof coin dated up to and including 1972, it is pretty hard to find a cameo or deep cameo example in an original Proof set. In today&#039;s world it is almost impossible because the sets have been so cherry picked over the years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Understand ?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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