Help with Grading MS Kennedy Halves

FC57Coins

Hey all:

In going through my coins this weekend I've decided that the next series I'd like to get into is Kennedy Circulation Strikes. I have practically a complete collection of raw halves, most of which have come from mint sets. I separated them into 4 categories:

Category 1: - (1Kennedy.jpg) - These halves have almost no marks and are about as good as you could get a clad coin in.

Category 2: - (2Kennedy.jpg) - These are pretty nice, but you will see a few contact marks on the face and hair area on the obverse and on the shield on the reverse.

Category 3: - (3Kennedy.jpg) - These will show more contact marks on the face and hair - with maybe a scuff mark on Kennedy's cheek, and on the shield in the reverse. Fields are still pretty clean, though under 10X magnification you might see some contact marks, though faint

Category 4: - (4Kennedy.jpg) - These are the killers, beautiful prooflike coins, but as you can see from the picture every imperfection is noticeable - various small dings and maybe a few scratches. The picture highlights the imperfections, but they're actually more visible under 10X magnification and are not too distracting to the naked eye.

Well there you have it - if you guys could maybe give me an idea of what range grades each category would fall into it would be really helpful.

Regards,

Frank

FC57Coins

DHeath

Frank,

Based on the ones I've submitted I think the 1st coin would make MS65 if not baggy in person, but the others don't get to that, and I'd say MS63-MS64 with the last coin being the toughest. They are really picky about strike and marks in the neck area in addition to marks/hairlines in the fields. Most folks believe these coins are easy to find in high grade, but truthfully a MS66 is the exception and not the rule. IMHO

FC57Coins

That's what I needed to know Don - I've not done much reading on Kennedy's and so I've separated them based on what I know of Franklins, so any help is certainly welcome - thanks!

Frank

braddick

Good luck in your quest for flawless Kennedy MintState coins. It's a terrific challenge and one that should bring you joy.
Your scans look like winners and I'm looking forward to how they turn out.
It's a great set!

Dog97

#1=65/66
#2=64
#3=63
#4=60

andy007

As a Kennedy collector, I can say that you mentioned many of the problems in acquiring true Gem plus Kennedy's. It's tough for me to find ones that have not quite a full strike or a weak shield on the reverse, or a major hit on the top of the shield, which will keep these coins out of MS66 range, which is were you at least want to be with Kennedy's IMO. I have a 72-D that graded MS66, but the coin is without any significant problems that you mentioned(in terms of marks) or strike or shield dings, but is the product of a rough planchet, keeping the coin out of MS67-up status. Tough coins to find without any of these problems raw, despite that I have searched hundreds upon hundreds of mint sets with only a handfull to submit and hope at that.

DHeath

BTW Frank,

I love the series too, and I believe it is one of the last overlooked sleepers around. A nice MS65/MS66 set isn't terrible expensive to make/buy, and it is one of the last big coins with some of the series containing silver and with plenty of varietys. Since the coins generally aren't circulated, I'm sure one day soon they will go extinct. Do I think they're a get rich scheme, no, but I do think the time to put together a great set is while they're still in circ.

FC57Coins

This is great help guys - it will give me a sense of what I'm looking at as I review the entire set again and see if there are some that I want to send in for slabbing! - I will let you know how it turns out.

Regards,

Frank

FC57Coins

Im definitely not looking to get rich off these - or any other of my coins - I'm leaving that to the gods of the Lotto South! As for halves - I've always liked them because they're big coins - I don't know - just always had a liking to them.

Frank

DHeath

Fellow addict....welcome!

itsnotjustme

It may be the scans but none looked too good to me. Can you provide a larger more clear scan of the first coin? (Your descriptions sound nicer than what I'm seeing... or maybe I need to clean my monitor!)

FC57Coins

Brian - I'll try to post a different scan tomorrow. I tried to get these scans to show as many hits as possible - but actually the first piece looks almost perfect to the naked eye. The last piece isn't really that bad either - you are taken aback more by the prooflike quality of the coins. It's only when you look closely under magnification that you start to see the hits. Bytheway all - I took the picture with a combination of incandescent lamp and a halogen lamp to try to get as much detail as possible.

Regards,

Frank