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 ... ?
Great looking high grade proof like Kennedys. Did you get them raw or already graded? I happened to be watching those two goofy brothers on that Coin Vault show, and they were making a pitch about the Rocketship set having PL Kennedys, so I ordered 10 sets from the Mint, at I believe $9.95 each. So those original sets are still sealed in original Mint packaging and box. Thanks for showing yours. Zack.
I also have two more of these Rocket ship Kennedys.
One is in ms65 pl and the other is in ms66 pl.
If and when I can locate a coin in ms66+ pl, I will post them to stay within the three coin requirement set by the op.
Wayne
There are quite a few “special” coins that were struck at the various mints throughout history- think 38-O half dollar, 94-S dime, 93-CC Morgan, that may or may not have surviving documentation to explain the who, what, when, where and why they were struck.
The Morgan dollar series itself has at least 8 of these issues.
Depending on the grading service (and even within the same grading service) they can be designated PR (proof), SP (specimen or special strike), or BM (branch mint).
There are some numismatic “experts” who belittle these for lacking documentation and not being struck on a medal press at Philadelphia, and therefore “can’t be true proofs” yada yada yada- who cares, I say!
They are clearly special, and different from routine business strikes- they were struck on specially prepared planchets, with freshly polished dies, and were set aside and cared for after striking as evidenced by their beautiful condition over 100 years later.
They are exotic, rare, unusual, and beautiful- and I love each and every one of them!
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I think I know who that "expert" is that you refer to. It might be the same person that I have had disagreements with in the past. I agree that these are special coins, regardless.
Is it known if these were struck AT the actual branch mints ? In those days, the Philadelphia Mint would fabricate the dies and the mint marks were punched in Philadelphia. Could some of these have actually been minted in Philadelphia before the dies were sent out to the branch mints ?
There are quite a few “special” coins that were struck at the various mints throughout history- think 38-O half dollar, 94-S dime, 93-CC Morgan, that may or may not have surviving documentation to explain the who, what, when, where and why they were struck.
The Morgan dollar series itself has at least 8 of these issues.
Depending on the grading service (and even within the same grading service) they can be designated PR (proof), SP (specimen or special strike), or BM (branch mint).
There are some numismatic “experts” who belittle these for lacking documentation and not being struck on a medal press at Philadelphia, and therefore “can’t be true proofs” yada yada yada- who cares, I say!
They are clearly special, and different from routine business strikes- they were struck on specially prepared planchets, with freshly polished dies, and were set aside and cared for after striking as evidenced by their beautiful condition over 100 years later.
They are exotic, rare, unusual, and beautiful- and I love each and every one of them!
.
I think I know who that "expert" is that you refer to. It might be the same person that I have had disagreements with in the past. I agree that these are special coins, regardless.
Is it known if these were struck AT the actual branch mints ? In those days, the Philadelphia Mint would fabricate the dies and the mint marks were punched in Philadelphia. Could some of these have actually been minted in Philadelphia before the dies were sent out to the branch mints ?
.
That’s a great question and certainly possible- just like the 1838-O’s, were they made in Philly or New Orleans?
All 1857’s graded PCGS MS65. All have CAC & EEPS (my friend @winesteven would definitely approve)! The first one pictured is the S-3 variety; the other two are S-4’s.
WB-2 - one of my favorites purchased raw off eBay. Great color that TrueView turned into pumpkin pie.
WB-6 - this coin's profoundly different toning between the obverse and reverse, and the obverse with its magically different look under direct vs indirect lighting drives me nuts. It drove Gerry Fortin nuts as well trying to photograph it and then describing it to customers interested in the coin, even though his in-hand photos for this coin are very good (seriously). He needed a photo with direct lighting to illustrate the 'magical' property of this coin to switch to a PL cameo with light amber-rose fields. He figuratively threw up his hands in the description and said, "trust me, you'll like it!" In my case, he was correct, but the coin still drives me nuts when I look at it.
Type 2 DM, undetermined at the moment (please DON'T tell me)
Posting trios is becoming habit-forming. Just like collecting nicely toned Illinois Centennials can be habit-forming. The differences in toning seem to alter Lincoln's mood between the three.
That 1889 Consolidated Kansas City Smelting & Refining Co medal (HK-731) is quite scarce from my experience.
While not specifically a "Colorado" medal, the company did process a lot of ore from Colorado, and it is possible that the medals were made from Colorado silver.
There are quite a few “special” coins that were struck at the various mints throughout history- think 38-O half dollar, 94-S dime, 93-CC Morgan, that may or may not have surviving documentation to explain the who, what, when, where and why they were struck.
The Morgan dollar series itself has at least 8 of these issues.
Depending on the grading service (and even within the same grading service) they can be designated PR (proof), SP (specimen or special strike), or BM (branch mint).
There are some numismatic “experts” who belittle these for lacking documentation and not being struck on a medal press at Philadelphia, and therefore “can’t be true proofs” yada yada yada- who cares, I say!
They are clearly special, and different from routine business strikes- they were struck on specially prepared planchets, with freshly polished dies, and were set aside and cared for after striking as evidenced by their beautiful condition over 100 years later.
They are exotic, rare, unusual, and beautiful- and I love each and every one of them!
.
I think I know who that "expert" is that you refer to. It might be the same person that I have had disagreements with in the past. I agree that these are special coins, regardless.
Is it known if these were struck AT the actual branch mints ? In those days, the Philadelphia Mint would fabricate the dies and the mint marks were punched in Philadelphia. Could some of these have actually been minted in Philadelphia before the dies were sent out to the branch mints ?
.
I believe this is more likely than many think. They likely would have been documented as an extra Proof die pair, and counted in the Proof production of the year. No one would be able to tell the difference from there.
Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but the 1898 proof looks like it was lightly wiped across Liberty's face, leaving hairlines on her lower face. There's also a hit on the wreath as well.
@Barberian said:
The 1898 proof looks overgraded, IMO.
Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but the 1898 proof looks like it was lightly wiped across Liberty's face, leaving hairlines on her lower face. There's also a hit on the wreath as well.
The face lines are die polish and the "hit" looks like a strike thru.
A PR69 for a 1898 does not equate to a PR69 from today.
Comments
Awesome dollars FFL! You are the Morgan Man!
A classic pair of trios:
Silver Three Cent Pieces
Gold Dollars
CAC approved 57-S gold



chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Quarters from the year 1958



Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Inverted jenny die clash


Three frosty SP Kennedy halves:
and three frosty PF69DCAM Proof Kennedy halves:
(3)1857 FE’s - all PCGS MS64 (but different varieties):
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
Nickelodeon
My Flowing Hair Trifecta -- Modern Style...

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Beautiful coins everyone. Wow to the Flying Eagles and the 2024 Flowing Hair Trifecta.
I also have two more of these Rocket ship Kennedys.
One is in ms65 pl and the other is in ms66 pl.
If and when I can locate a coin in ms66+ pl, I will post them to stay within the three coin requirement set by the op.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
.
I think I know who that "expert" is that you refer to. It might be the same person that I have had disagreements with in the past. I agree that these are special coins, regardless.
Is it known if these were struck AT the actual branch mints ? In those days, the Philadelphia Mint would fabricate the dies and the mint marks were punched in Philadelphia. Could some of these have actually been minted in Philadelphia before the dies were sent out to the branch mints ?
.
That’s a great question and certainly possible- just like the 1838-O’s, were they made in Philly or New Orleans?
Three walking liberties... sort of.



My current "Box of 20"
Another FE Trio:
All 1857’s graded PCGS MS65. All have CAC & EEPS (my friend @winesteven would definitely approve)! The first one pictured is the S-3 variety; the other two are S-4’s.
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
Nickelodeon
Capped Bust silver type



Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
1977-Ss are on my mind this afternoon.
WB-2 - one of my favorites purchased raw off eBay. Great color that TrueView turned into pumpkin pie.

WB-6 - this coin's profoundly different toning between the obverse and reverse, and the obverse with its magically different look under direct vs indirect lighting drives me nuts. It drove Gerry Fortin nuts as well trying to photograph it and then describing it to customers interested in the coin, even though his in-hand photos for this coin are very good (seriously). He needed a photo with direct lighting to illustrate the 'magical' property of this coin to switch to a PL cameo with light amber-rose fields. He figuratively threw up his hands in the description and said, "trust me, you'll like it!" In my case, he was correct, but the coin still drives me nuts when I look at it.

Type 2 DM, undetermined at the moment (please DON'T tell me)

Posting trios is becoming habit-forming. Just like collecting nicely toned Illinois Centennials can be habit-forming. The differences in toning seem to alter Lincoln's mood between the three.
@jt88 what’s the theme of those three?
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Chopmarked Trade Dollars with total CAC Approved populations of 1
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Not sure, I guess US spirit
How about these three? technology pioneer for the new money.
The theme for these three is toned modern beauty.
US medals
Doubled Die Reverse Chopmarked Trade Dollars
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
1839 LC’s:
1) 1839/6 F12
2)
Silly Head
3)
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
Nickelodeon
1916 - 2016 Centennial Antiqued Trio
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
Some WWII-era WQs from a recent photo shoot. 66+, 67 CAC and 67, respectively.



Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Possibly the second toughest trio in the Walker series (after the 1921 issues) in XF.
.
That 1889 Consolidated Kansas City Smelting & Refining Co medal (HK-731) is quite scarce from my experience.
While not specifically a "Colorado" medal, the company did process a lot of ore from Colorado, and it is possible that the medals were made from Colorado silver.
I don't know much about the other two.
.
Latin American Collection
Toned US coins.
I believe this is more likely than many think. They likely would have been documented as an extra Proof die pair, and counted in the Proof production of the year. No one would be able to tell the difference from there.
From the 1898 thread..






The 1898 proof looks overgraded, IMO.
Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but the 1898 proof looks like it was lightly wiped across Liberty's face, leaving hairlines on her lower face. There's also a hit on the wreath as well.
INYNWHWeTrust-TexasNationals,ajaan,blu62vette
coinJP, Outhaul ,illini420,MICHAELDIXON, Fade to Black,epcjimi1,19Lyds,SNMAN,JerseyJoe, bigjpst, DMWJR , lordmarcovan, Weiss,Mfriday4962,UtahCoin,Downtown1974,pitboss,RichieURich,Bullsitter,JDsCoins,toyz4geo,jshaulis, mustanggt, SNMAN, MWallace, ms71, lordmarcovan
PCGS-66+






PCGS-66
PCGS-66
The face lines are die polish and the "hit" looks like a strike thru.
A PR69 for a 1898 does not equate to a PR69 from today.
PCGS-64






PCGS-64
PCGS-64
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )