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1964 Kennedy Sets $156,000 Record In Stack’s Auction

1630Boston1630Boston Posts: 13,772 ✭✭✭✭✭

1964 Kennedy Sets $156,000 Record In Stack’s Auction
The Stack’s Bowers Galleries official auction of the 2019 ANA World’s Fair of Money set several records for United States coinage earlier this month in Rosemont, Illinois.

Among these was lot 5231 of their Rarities Night session, a 1964 Kennedy half dollar produced as part of an unreported Special Mint Set (SMS) and certified SP-68 by PCGS. After intense bidding, it sold for an astounding $156,000, setting a new record for the most valuable non-error modern United States coin ever sold at auction

from http://www.coinnews.net/home/inside-perspective/

Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb

Bad transactions with : nobody to date

Comments

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Oy!

    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Wow... Did not realize these were commanding such prices....would be great if one were also found to be an AH... ;) Cheers, RickO

  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 23,898 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Is there any documentation to support the designation as SMS?

    All glory is fleeting.
  • lonn47lonn47 Posts: 236 ✭✭✭

    over price.

  • keetskeets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 30, 2019 12:01PM

    setting a new record for the most valuable non-error modern United States coin ever sold at auction

    two things come to mind:
    1). Provenance.
    2). the Hansen effect.

    the second is self-explanatory. the first, I don't mean to cause any controversy for owners of these 1964 SMS issues, but I would assume that there should be something to show this was struck with some intent by having Mint records which show as much(roughly a dozen mysterious specimen strike examples for which there is little confirmed information regarding their production). a provenance to Eva Adams has always struck me as odd.

  • abcde12345abcde12345 Posts: 3,404 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Is this the one that used to be NGC MS69 (just a regular mint coin)?

  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 27,411 ✭✭✭✭✭

    no, not for me

  • BillDugan1959BillDugan1959 Posts: 3,821 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Quos deus vult perdere prius dementate...

  • 1630Boston1630Boston Posts: 13,772 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Those whom God wishes to destroy he first.................... ?

    Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb

    Bad transactions with : nobody to date

  • BillDugan1959BillDugan1959 Posts: 3,821 ✭✭✭✭✭

    ...spellchecker hates Latin. Try 'dementat', that's what Dr. Johnson used...

  • 1630Boston1630Boston Posts: 13,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 30, 2019 10:54AM

    Those whom God wishes to destroy he first makes angry

    Kind of like a cat toying with a mouse, swatting it with its paw for a while before finishing it off I guess.

    Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb

    Bad transactions with : nobody to date

  • joeykoinsjoeykoins Posts: 14,787 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Nice Coin indeed! The Kennedy coins always create some news or good conversations. One of my favorite for sure. ESp. the Super Cameo AH. <3

    "Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!

    --- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 43,795 ✭✭✭✭✭

    $ 155,999.50 for the holder and label.

  • cameonut2011cameonut2011 Posts: 10,060 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 31, 2019 7:37AM

    @291fifth said:
    Is there any documentation to support the designation as SMS?

    No. I don't even think Walter Breen, the king of bogus specimen and special proof designation claims, recognized them. :o:D

  • 7Jaguars7Jaguars Posts: 7,228 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Just wow! I mean I guess I think of basic economics, even if one does have the deep pockets: what are the prices of substitutes (other coins of similar price)?
    Let me see, would I like a Pan-Pac $50 gold or even a Territorial $50, or an SMS Kennedy?

    Have to think about that for a long time, OR NOT!

    Love that Milled British (1830-1960)
    Well, just Love coins, period.
  • AotearoaAotearoa Posts: 1,355 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I can't resist: Oh, the chain cent I could get for that kind of money...

    Smitten with DBLCs.

  • mr1931Smr1931S Posts: 5,956 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Nuts. I'd rather have 50 cents face value of choice and gem unc.1909 SVDB's for my $150,000+.

    Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein

  • DCWDCW Posts: 6,935 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Insane.
    But while we could always draw comparisons with what we personally would buy with this kind of money, in reality, a buyer of this type of coin most likely could probably buy both. You dont drop $156K on a Kennedy half and are left wanting in other areas of the hobby.

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,427 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2019 5:13AM

    Yawn. :(

    I have a whole list of wonderful, historic coins I could with that amount of money and still have a lot left over. Massachusetts silver, a rare hammered British penny, a rare presidential inaugural medal and some scarce Roman pieces issued by some of the 12 Caesars would all be on the list. Instead you have a boring Kennedy half dollar that does not look much different from something that might be found in a roll of junk silver.

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • morgansforevermorgansforever Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2019 5:16AM

    Good exposure for the Kennedy half series and the hobby, after all it's his or hers money. We all collect something, this 1907 440cc Harley strap tank sold for $715k in March of 2015, to each his own.

    World coins FSHO Hundreds of successful BST transactions U.S. coins FSHO
  • MWallaceMWallace Posts: 3,832 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2, 2019 4:08AM

    @Oldhoopster said:
    Oh no. Here come the "is my 1964 half a SMS?" questions

    Along with 8 large close-up pictures of the same general area.

    Edited to correct a typo.

  • WalkerfanWalkerfan Posts: 8,897 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Not for me but I don't like moderns in the first place….It's surely a rare piece, so I will not begrudge the new owner for his victory and happiness. It's good for the market, IMHO. Congrats!!

    “I may not believe in myself but I believe in what I’m doing” ~Jimmy Page~

    My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947)

    https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/

  • SoldiSoldi Posts: 2,017 ✭✭✭✭✭

    And I thought the 70-D was a tough date.

  • JimnightJimnight Posts: 10,767 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Nice.

  • 3stars3stars Posts: 2,280 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @morgansforever said:
    Good exposure for the Kennedy half series and the hobby, after all it's his or hers money. We all collect something, this 1907 440cc Harley strap tank sold for $715k in March of 2015, to each his own.

    Difference is there are not millions of identical if slight less condition Harley’s like this out there.

    Previous transactions: Wondercoin, goldman86, dmarks, Type2
  • messydeskmessydesk Posts: 19,642 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That would seem to be a "non-reproducible sale."

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 33,811 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2019 6:15PM

    It’s nice to know the coin market is strong.

    As for interests, you don’t spend that kind of money without knowing what you are doing.

  • DCWDCW Posts: 6,935 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @3stars said:

    @morgansforever said:
    Good exposure for the Kennedy half series and the hobby, after all it's his or hers money. We all collect something, this 1907 440cc Harley strap tank sold for $715k in March of 2015, to each his own.

    Difference is there are not millions of identical if slight less condition Harley’s like this out there.

    Um, the reason it sold for thousands of dollars is because there aren't millions of identical ones. This is supposedly a prototype for the 1965 sms coins. Only a dozen or so known.
    Whether or not you believe in the hype is another story.

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • @keets said:
    setting a new record for the most valuable non-error modern United States coin ever sold at auction

    two things come to mind:
    1). Provenance.
    2). the Hansen effect.

    the second is self-explanatory. the first, I don't mean to cause any controversy for owners of these 1964 SMS issues, but I would assume that there should be something to show this was struck with some intent by having Mint records which show as much(roughly a dozen mysterious specimen strike examples for which there is little confirmed information regarding their production). a provenance to Eva Adams has always struck me as odd.

    I have never found any ‘provenance to Eva Adams’, only speculation relayed to David Lange from an employee of Stacks.

    To my knowledge, nobody at Stacks has successfully utilized a crystal ball or Ouija board to talk with the late Mr. Merkin from beyond the grave to find out where he acquired the coins from.

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 33,811 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2, 2019 10:28AM

    This is a pop 5/1 so I wonder what the pop 1/0 SP69 would go for now. Would Hansen ever want to upgrade this coin?

    It's in his #2 ranked Registry Set already:

    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset/166880

    Here's the cert page and TrueView.

    https://www.pcgs.com/cert/37846452

  • keetskeets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have never found any ‘provenance to Eva Adams’, only speculation..............................

    this is a good point, I probably should have worded it differently, but reply only seems to highlight the speculative nature of these. were they struck with a special intent and ordered as such by the Mint?? are they some type of clandestine issue, struck and then taken from the Mint by an employee?? are they simply the first strikes off of new dies from the Mint for the different denominations that someone inside kept, different only because any others have the diagnostics worn from subsequent strikes??

    there is little doubt that collectors find them to be interesting and intriguing.

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