Variety Attribution

JFK_Collector

In the past when it was questionable what variety a Kennedy half dollar was, Mike Faraone who was one of the attributors for PCGS would except James Wiles’ observations if the die was one of the FS numbers because as Mike told me, James Wiles wrote the book on Kennedys that PCGS uses.

My question is: Will the new attributors for PCGS still honor James Wiles' observations on what die the varieties are for Kennedy half dollars and if that die has an FS number?

Thank you,
Tim

IkesT

@JFK_Collector said:
My question is: Will the new attributors for PCGS still honor James Wiles' observations on what die the varieties are for Kennedy half dollars and if that die has an FS number?

PCGS attributes only the Kennedy Half dollar die varieties listed in the Cherrypicker's Guide. This has not changed. Only varieties listed in the Cherrypicker's Guide have FS numbers (FS stands for Fivaz-Stanton - the authors of the book).

A more thorough listing of Kennedy Half dollar varieties can be found at VarietyVista:

http://varietyvista.com/12 Kennedy Halves/index.htm

This listing is maintained by James Wiles. Many of the varieties listed here are not listed in the Cherrypicker's Guide, and therefore do not have FS numbers and are not attributed by PCGS. Again, there is no change here.

James Wiles himself also offers a variety attribution service for coins:

http://varietyvista.com/Attribution Services.htm

On occasion, I've heard of cases of PCGS customers sending letters of attribution from James Wiles to PCGS with their coins. This is not required for the PCGS variety attribution service, but may be helpful in specific cases where you have had trouble getting the correct variety attributed.