I have this '64 Kennedy in a proof set currently and thinking about taking it out of the packaging. Looks like it may have accented hair features but need other opinions.
Not AH. The easiest die marker to use is actually not in the hair. It's the lower left serif of the I in LIBERTY, as per this image:
Nope. The fastest pick-up for me to check those is the I in LIBERTY. The AH variety has the bottom left serif missing.
This one tickles me. Why haven't we then called it the "lopped off I serif" variety, rather than obsessing on the hair. Yes, I know, in 1960 JFK's hair was unusual for a president, but still ...
Ah! Perfect and thanks for the info, good to know. I have '61-'64 proof sets that I really would like to break out of the packaging. Would rather put them in my collections separated out. Thoughts on that?
Because the reason it exists is Jackie Kennedy didn't like the hair on the AH and requested it be changed. I don't think she cared about the serif on the I.
As each year goes by, breaking out high volume proof sets sounds better and better to me. Some coins are still fine in the pliofilm, but more and more are turning.
All these coins look great, the nickels of course are turning but would like to look at them better in a different setting.
Keep an eye out for blue '62 nickels and yellow to green '61 nickels. I've seen some interesting grades on some of them.
I also found a '61 proof set in which the dime was brick red on one side and bluish black on the other, STILL IN THE MINT PACKAGE. I put it in a dime Capital Plastics holder, and both sides are now more blackish.
Thanks for this post and info! I checked mine and could see the identifyer without a loupe. Sorry for poor photo, but did not want to take it out of the case.
Yup, that's one. I hope those scratches are on the holder. The other identifier, the bright thing above JFK's ear that looks like a wavy W, is where the name of the variety came from.
Yes, they are on the holder. I'm pleased to say. It had a rough life before I got it. But I collect what comes my way, and it is one of my favorites.
Wikipedia mentions that Jackie ask for the hair to be changed when viewing trial strikes. [with footnotes]
Well, yes. The comment in question is: In grade school, I believe we all played the game when the teacher put the class in a circle and told a small story to one student and then had the student whisper the same story to the student on their left and so on until the story came back to the first student. Most of the time, the story that returned to the first student was nowhere near what the teacher told in the first place. Instead of believing what is one the internet, maybe people should do a little research and try to find paper of the first student to tell the story, in this case, Gilroy Roberts, the one who not only designed the obverse of the Kennedy half dollar but according to his written recollections of events is the one who showed his design to Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy before production. According to Gilroy Roberts, at this meeting, Jacqueline Kennedy suggested “Mrs. Kennedy was favorably impressed with the design on both sides of the coin but felt it would be an improvement if the part in the hair, on the portrait, was less pronounced and more accents were added.” Somehow having a less pronounced part in the hair and more accents added has translated into she wanted less accents in the hair. Just my 4 bits on the subject, Caleb
Cool. You can have all the fame, fortune, and prizes I got for pointing out that she didn't like the original obverse.