I'm thinking of getting some graded Kennedy Proof halves for my grandson, since he recently expressed interest in them and want to help him out. Looking at just getting 40% silver halves just to start off with. My question deals with grades and TPGs. Would PR69 be a good start, or should I try for the more expensive PR70 grades? I don't know if the PR70 are worth it, since they seem to be quite a bit higher. Also, what do you think of ICG graded examples? I normally get PCGS or NGC for my collection, but they are higher that ICG examples. What say you?
I have a complete set of PR69 DCAM (mixed PCGS and NGC). And I think you'll find the DCAMs are easier to find. And seem reasonably affordable even in silver. Some of the 70's can get pricey.
Is your grandson a registry-oriented collector? If not, I would go with 69's. The difference between 69 and 70 seems like a roll of the dice to me - can the average collector really see any difference? The money you save would buy more coins for him.
40% silver is only the 1965-1970 (plus 1976) Kennedy Halfs. The 1965-1967 were part of special mint sets so those are not considered "true" proof coins. The TPGs nowdays call them "SP" but used to just label them as "MS" (cameo designations are possible). There are no 70s in the 1965-1970 range and very few among the 1976 coins. Even in PF 69, some of these are quite expensive. PF 67 or PF 68 is a good value grade (including cameo or deep cameo for some). Now if you are talking about the 90% silver starting in 1992, then those are readily available in 69 deep cameo and 70 deep cameo. The 70s will be costly and in most cases you will not see a big difference, so the 69 grade is where the value is (some can sell for a small premium above silver value). And there is nothing wrong with buying an ICG or Anacs example but don't pay PCGS/NGC money for ICG or Anacs 70 grades. The market discounts those; even if they are true 70s you would need to have them cross to PCGS/NGC to get the 70 price. Otherwise, expect to receive 69 pricing or even a little under for most ICG/Anacs 70s (you will see them sell for more on eBay but it will still be below PCGS/NGC levels).
I don't disagree with you here, but it's really dumb on the public's part of perception. I went to a coin show today and talked to their (ANACS) rep at the booth dropping off some lesser value Morgans for grading. I told him I have a bunch of rolls of uncirculated 1964 Kennedy halves, and asked if there is bulk submission breaks for them. The answer was yes and no, and won't get into the weeds with the answer here. It's nuts that a graded MS64 sells for twice what a raw coin of the same sells for, but the cost of grading is almost prohibitive.
Most Unc 1964 Kennedy halfs aren't worth grading. Even in MS 66, you can buy them for $60 or less in NGC holders. Dealers that send 100+ can get lower rates (under $10) so it can make sense for them to send. For non-bulk rates, it is $20-$30 per coin and so it does not make sense.
Well it's $14 or slightly less with ANACS but it's russian roulette depending on the grader's opinion, then you have to deal with market perception of ANACs verses PCGS and NGC. So yeah, you are still correct no matter what.
Why not start your grandson with raw proofs? Much more affordable and in many cases you will not be able to tell the difference between a TPG graded one.
