I have the 7166 dansco Kennedy set BU complete. I just bought the 8166 book that includes the proofs. It has spaces for the 65, 66, 67 SMS coins. They don't list these in the Redbook. How are they different from an unc 65, 66, 67??? I'm confused...
To the best of my knowledge unless the SMS coins are in their original packaging, there is no difference between them and business strikes. Supposedly SMS coins were selected for superior strike, but otherwise no difference.
kanga: You are right abput the the 'supposedly'. However, if you look at one of the SMS out of the case they are easy to tell from the regular production coins. More proof-like (but rarely deep). And, occassionally, even cameoed. But, they are better strikes, and nicer coins.
I could be wrong but I seem to remember that the process of making SMS coins was somewhere between business strike and proof coin production. The dies were polished but the planchets were not. The coin was struck only once, not twice, slower and under more pressure than a business strike.
So if you put both in the holes, you can tell the difference right? If you can't tell the difference, why have two holes for them. ONLY DANSCO KNOWS. Is one more valuable then the other? Thanks for your help.
Ed: You can tell them apart side by side. The SMS is worth more, but that is a relative statement. Neither is scarce, unless the SMS is mirrored & camoed.
A really nice business strike can also look like an SMS coin, and a low end SMS coin can easily look like a business strike. So in my opinion there really is no way to tell for sure if a 1965 66 or 67 coin is an SMS coin or not. (in the range where their qualities overlap the grading services can't tell them apart either.)
They are listed in the Red Book Ed, just not under the regular listings because the coins are neither business strikes nor Proofs. They are listed in the back pages under Special Mint Sets.
