Today while at work, I was handed two coins, that someone was paying with for their items, both halves, I could tell right off that they were silver and both in MS condition, one was a 63 kennedy, the other was a 64. I quickly traded them out with a dollar bill after the customer left. I give the 64 an MS - 63 or better, and I give the 63 a MS-62 or maybe less....All the while of looking at this coin, while at work, I began to think....This coin came out of someones collection...It was taken, and traded off for face value...How can someone do this to another person? It's good for me, but, it's bad for the original collector, If I would think that if everyone in my town was honest, I would put up a lost and found in the paper on these coins, and give them back to the person, but, I know if I placed the ad, I would receive 100's of calls....And I don't see how anyone could really give hard evidence it was theirs...I just don't know about these coin thiefs, I want to grab them by their neck and choke them really....
Your assumption is very valid, penny. I had my entire collection stolen 1988. Later, I found out that my wife's half-brother had sold every piece at a flea market. (yes, he's still alive) One other possibility is that the customer that handed you the two Kennedys, was the rightful owner. I can remember having to spend my coins, when I was a kid, for things I needed.
Well, I could understand a collector spending circulated silver halves....But not kennedies in this kind of condition, heck, i'm not too sure it couldn't hit ms 65, i'm lookin at my certified franklin halves that are ms-63 and ms-64, they don't look near as good as this does....There is a problem with the 63 kennedy though, I think it has a rather large finger print on it, but, it looks like it may be something else, not for sure...The 64 is awesome quality though...
Yes, penny, but you are assuming that your customer was a collector that had any idea of the value of uncirculated silver halves. They may have inherited the coins, figured they were only worth face value, and decided it was easier to spend them, than to try to find a buyer. Another scenario, is that your customer received the coins as change, or payment for a debt, and not having any idea about coin values, decided to spend them. I still think that the "stolen goods" theory is most likely the correct one, but we will probably never know for sure.
There is a likelier explanation still. They are fake. In any case, the "63 Kennedy” is a fake, since 1964 was the first year they were minted.
QUOTE from jody526 "Your assumption is very valid, penny. I had my entire collection stolen 1988. Later, I found out that my wife's half-brother had sold every piece at a flea market. (yes, he's still alive)." Isn't it amazing that our ex-wives whom we married in front of family, friends, and God end up doing things and having brothers that make your head think of Scott and Laci Peterson stuff?? My ex never "stole" my collection like Jody526's ex-brother-in-law...she went after its value for her "half". Fortunately, I saved 90% of the receipts of purchases that go back well before I married her to show the courts that I possessed many of the coins BEFORE we were married. When I had to explain to the courts that the very first Morgans I have (common dates) were a gift from my Grandfather when I was just a kid...well, my blood boiled to an unhealthly level. Whose kidding who? Even if I were sitting in jail (perfect alabi) and she should disappear, I know that every investigator would go after me. Still she wanted half of it even thought she had no clue what it was or what it was worth. She got some of its value...but she never got my grandfather's coins he gave to me. If she did, then you probably would being seeing the Today Show talking about her disappearance! This is almost like the the thread I started, "An old lady wants into a coin store with a box of her late husband's coins." Unfortunately, our collections and passion may end up in loose change or some flea market unless we take the proper steps NOW! Don't say it wouldn't happen to you...after all, we all promise on our Wedding day to love and honor forever. Who plans on spouse becoming "re-born", wacked-out, but coherant enough to go after your coin collection you started as a kid?? Hey Jody...I love to "meet" your ex-brother-in-law and accidentially "bump" into him on the streets. I'll be thinking about my ex-wife as she went after my Grandfather's coins.
Thanks, Ed. Just to clarify, though, Carolyn and me have been together for over 25 years. She'd be crazy to divorce me, and settle for half, when she can tough it out and have it all. LOL
starting read i was gonna say same thing there is no 63 kennedy half. i liked kennedy halfs and there very popular in the uk, i just sold 4 kennedy halfs on ebay here 65,66,67,68 cheapest went for 12 usd and most expe4nsive for 17 usd these were not proofs or nothing or even mint state. people realy like them here for the memories everyone has a bit of a soft spot for kennedy.
I quite like them but i always had a softer spot for the Franklins. But Washingtons are my favourite.
A 1963 kennedy wasn't made? Looks like a kennedy silver half to me, but, yeah your right it's not in any of my books, which should have been commen sense to me...It looks real, maybe a million dollar coin eh not likely but i'll keep dreamin...Man, I feel stupid now even grading it. Now comes another question how does someone fake a kennedy half, and why?
But of course, maybe that's why the finger print looks like it is actually sunken into the coin....Altered and then dipped in something??? I don't see any signs of the date being altered or anything...I don't know, i'll inspect it closer tonight and see if I find anything.
Believe me, if I still had my digital camera, everyone would be floating to their ears with pictures of what comes through my register, and I did examine it more last night, still nothing looks odd except the what looks like a finger print, that is sucken into the coin, at the cheek and base of neck...
Wouldn't be too hard to change an "8" into a "3". Penny, look at the edge, and see if it is a clad (sandwich) coin.
No....If I think i'm gettin what you are saying right, it doesn't look like a sandwich coin....I mean, from examining the sides all around, I see no copper, the only thing I see funky about it is the sunken in finger print like I stated earlier...But then again...I'm not too keen on spotting these fakes or altered coins, that's why I try to stick to one dealer and one dealer only....I'll take it to him soon enough, and see what he says about it, regardless of the outcome, i'll see if he can't take some pics and put them on a disc, then upload them on here... Oh and yeah, I can tell the differant from the edge between clad and silver
Don't forget that 65 through 70 JFKs were clad, but SILVER clad. The clad layer is not copper, but a slightly different shade of silver.
Yeah, even though i'm not a kennedy collector, I can tell the differance between full silver and partial silver clad...Maybe I just haven't studied enough kennedies to know how it was altered....
