Pan-Pac Half

MJD

I picked up this XF-45 Pan-Pac half for my commemorative collection. Obviously, I would have preferred a mint state, but those are out of my price range at the moment. Even in this grade, it’s still an attractive coin and has always been one of my favorite designs.

BillJones

That is a very nice example for an EF graded example. The Pan Pac half dollars were issued before the commemorative coin boom of the 1930s. As such many of them were owned by non collectors who didn't know how to preserve them, which makes them scarce in the Mint State grades.

This one is graded MS-64.

Hydrant

I like it. I keep waiting for just the right one.. Probably never happen. I like yours!

Broadstruck

@Hydrant said:
I like it. I keep waiting for just the right one.. Probably never happen. I like yours!

Right there with you as I've owned and sold quite a few and only ever saw one I really liked which was priced that way too.

MFeld

That’s an exceptionally nice looking example! I prefer it to just about any circulated piece, as well as a great many mint state ones I’ve seen.

Broadstruck

@MJD Rub wise that's a lot of coin at XF45 as the cherub's butt cheek and hair are found in sub Gem plastic with just about the same.

coinbuf

Congrats on the addition, I agree that the Pan Pac is a very nice design.

DDR

That's one of my favorite designs of the series.

johnny9434

Nice score 🙂

ricko

A really nice coin....I like that one, lots of good detail. Cheers, RickO

oih82w8

I love the design, even in circulated condition, and have included one in my 7070 Type Collection.

1915-S/S Panama-Pac RPM FS-501 AU 55

BillJones

There are not that many great Pan PAC half dollars out there. The AU-55 piece posted previously is exceptional. The piece I posted earlier was one of the better ones I had seen when I bought it years ago.

I’ve seen a couple of traps too. At one of the shows, a dealer had one in an MS-67 holder that was as ugly as sin. He was pushing it on me @ $17,500.00. I would not have paid $170 for it as a collector. It really turned me off, regardless of the price.

sellitstore

These coins don't come with great luster but I've seem some very attractively toned examples.

BryceM

Wow. For a circulated Pan-Pac, that’s about as good as it gets.

BillJones

I don't think that the original issue boxes were kind to these coins.

Years ago, when I was looked for the Pan Pac $2.50 in high grade, Heritage had a three piece set (Half dollar, gold dollar and $2.50) ) with the original box. The gold coins were quite nice, but the half dollar had been cleaned with an abrasive and was in a "details" (no grade) holder. One of the previous owners had not like the toning on the half dollar and had rubbed it off the surface.

oih82w8

I have read that the "ring" of toning on the Pan-Pac Half Dollar is on almost all original coins, from the holder/envelope that is was purchased in. Sometimes it is appealing, sometimes not.

Higashiyama

That’s a great coin and a wonderful example of the Barber/Morgan collaboration.

Higashiyama

@BillJones said: “I don't think that the original issue boxes were kind to these coins.”

I agree, although the ones that are not messed with share a pretty distinctive originality. I bought one years ago when a 5 coin set was broken up. It has a distinctive though dullish blue grey toning and graded 63 when I submitted it.

(About 5 years later @MFeld sold me a much livelier one, and much higher grade, though similar color spectrum. I love this issue)

Barberian

I just received my Trueview for this Pan Pac. Nobody seemed to want this coin (recently graded MS63) on eBay as it sold for under $200. An acorn for this 'blind pig'.

Namvet69

You did good daddyo! Peace Roy

1946Hamm

Here is the one in my type set. It has the ring talked about above. It is also one of the S/S varieties.

logger7

Very nice design on obverse and federal heraldic on reverse. Consider how long it took to bring the Panama Canal to fruition and the effort nearly bankrupted France in the 1800s.

There was one in this case at a flea market I picked up that graded MS64+ at NGC.

DisneyFan

@oih82w8 said:
I have read that the "ring" of toning on the Pan-Pac Half Dollar is on almost all original coins, from the holder/envelope that is was purchased in. Sometimes it is appealing, sometimes not.

Bowers in his Guide Book of U.S. Commemorative Coins states:
"On many pieces there is an inner "circle" or "line" near the rim of the obverse due to die characteristics."

Bigtree

There was a nicely toned Pan-Pac (MS 64 CAC) at the Legends auction last night that I thought about bidding on, but it sold for over $4800, which is at least double what I expected. (These are the Legend pics.)

NoGold

That's a beauty!

Barberian

Now THAT'S attractive toning. Pan Pac halves are one of my favorite classic commemoratives.

BryceM

Lots of stuff went strong at the legend sale. That Pan-Pac was on my watchlist. I was gearing up to make a very strong bid to acquire a different coin for my type set…… but my “very strong bid” was blown away by more than $4k. I wasn’t even in the ballpark. Oh well.

kaz

I really like the design of these. The velvet lined issue boxes seem to have imparted some nice toning, usually blue and rose.
here is mine, graded MS 63.

winesteven

Here’s mine with the typical “ring”. I bought it privately in November 2019 as a 66 with a CAC, and I thought it was special enough to send it back to PCGS for Reconsideration. It came back with a “+”, and since the cert # remained the same, it automatically got the CAC reapplied:

Steve

mirabela

My circulated Pan Pac. I bought this one from another forum member in 2006.