Jackie O asks for 'mussed up' hair on Kennedy half dollar

1630Boston · July 11, 2022 8:01AM

From COIN WORLD
Published: Jul 21, 2014
Editor’s note: In his August monthly Coin World cover feature, Gerald Tebben looks back at the story of the John F. Kennedy half dollar as the numismatic community celebrates the coin's 50th anniversary.

On Dec. 10, 1963, President Lyndon Johnson asked Congress to authorize the new Kennedy coin. The Associated Press reported, “If approved quickly, present plans are to have the coin in circulation early next year.

“The design — to be taken from a ‘presidential series medal’ now being produced in Philadelphia — is already in existence and little cost or delay would be entailed in making new dies, the White House said.”

The cost was estimated at $1,000. The bill quickly and nearly unanimously passed both houses of Congress. “Few House members, however, were willing to risk a vote at this time against anything carrying the Kennedy name.” Elston G. Bradfield reported in The Numismatist. Johnson signed the bill Dec. 30.

Mint officials, however, did not wait for formal approval of the legislation to make the necessary hub and die tooling, and start producing test strikes of the 1964 coins even before the bill became law. In his report to Adams on April 29, Gasparro wrote, “At 9 a.m. on Dec. 13th we struck our first trial (pattern) pieces.” That same day he flew to Washington to deliver the coins to Adams who, in turn, sent them to Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon and President Johnson.

On Dec. 17, Roberts showed a prototype of the coin to the president’s widow. He told interviewer David Lisot in a videotaped American Numismatic Association Numismatic Profile in 1991, “They wanted Mrs. Kennedy to see — this is the portrait that is on the half dollar. And I had emphasized the part in his hair.

“He had a great shock of hair as you recall, and most artists, when they did a Kennedy portrait, they made a lot of this shock of hair, thinking that’s going to help them to make it look like Kennedy, you know. Well, they were right, but they had a tendency to overemphasize this part in his hair. And Mrs. Kennedy looked at the coin, and she said, ‘Could you muss up his hair a little bit?’

“All right, I thought, that was a wonderful criticism. She was a bit of an artist herself, and I think that aspect of the likeness was the first thought in her mind. It was very helpful, so I mussed up his hair and sort of half hid the part, made it less obvious, which helped. It was good criticism so I thanked her, too, for that helpful hint.”

The obverse design was revised to “muss” the hair and another trial strike made. Roberts flew to West Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 27 to show the revised design to the Treasury secretary, who signed off on it.

Gilroy Roberts is shown working on a plaster model for the obverse of the Kennedy half dollar. The portrait was originally created for Kennedy’s 1961 U.S. Mint Presidential medal.
Coin World file image.

full article here https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/kennedy-half-dollar-50th-anniversary-coin-world-numismatics-jfk-jackie-o-collecting.html

silverpop · July 11, 2022 8:03AM

ricko · July 11, 2022 9:27AM

I have several of the AH Kennedy halves. First thing I check for when I see a mint set for sale at gun shows or antique shops. No coin shows or shops in this area. Cheers, RickO

crazyhounddog · July 11, 2022 10:31AM

Cool read. Thank you for sharing this.

Paradisefound · July 11, 2022 11:30AM

Interesting!

WAYNEAS · July 11, 2022 11:40AM

Thanks for the article @1630Boston.
Wayne

bennybravo · July 11, 2022 11:43AM

Great and interesting read!

gonzer · July 11, 2022 1:27PM

@1630Boston said:
From COIN WORLD

“He had a great shock of hair as you recall, and most artists, when they did a Kennedy portrait, they made a lot of this shock of hair, thinking that’s going to help them to make it look like Kennedy, you know. Well, they were right, but they had a tendency to overemphasize this part in his hair. And Mrs. Kennedy looked at the coin, and she said, ‘Could you muss up his hair a little bit?’

“All right, I thought, that was a wonderful criticism. She was a bit of an artist herself, and I think that aspect of the likeness was the first thought in her mind. It was very helpful, so I mussed up his hair and sort of half hid the part, made it less obvious, which helped. It was good criticism so I thanked her, too, for that helpful hint.”

Thanks, this clearly answers my query in the other post. Much obliged!

DrDarryl · July 11, 2022 7:31PM

Other references I found while researching the presidential seal design (and other designs) by Frank Gasparro. The following are written/signed accounts by Miss Adams, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. Gasparro in the rush to create the Kennedy half dollar.

Frank Gasparro made reference to the 1961 Presidential Inaugural medal (reverse shown in the middle).

Did you just realize the dual torch design on the 1960 Eisenhower Appreciation medal, 1961 Kennedy Presidential Inaugural medal. and the Congressional Gold medal for General of the Army for the United States, Douglas MacArthur (bronze replica shown). Mr. Gasparro reused the dual torch design for three consecutive years on three different official US Mint issues!

That presidential seal on the 1961 Kennedy Presidential Inaugural medal is tiny. Here is a larger version that Frank Gasparro design in 1962 for a Kennedy Appreciation medal. US Mint struck 300 for personal use by President Kennedy.

One can't forget about the FG near the eagle's right talon.

Then again, Frank Gasparro used an incuse FGs on the special Government medals for US agencies.

Can't forget about the CIA medal.