Grading MS Kennedy Halves

moosesr

I picked up several nice raw BU Kennedy halves at a coin show, at least I thought so until I took a closer look at the reverses when I got home. A good percentage of the coins have some pretty noticeable marks on the top part of the shield. Most of the coins looked like MS65/66 or maybe even nicer just based on the marks on the obverse. How critical are marks on the shield in getting a high grade from PCGS?
Thanks, Charlie

Russ

<< <i>How critical are marks on the shield in getting a high grade from PCGS? >>



HUGE. They are very picky about that area. Anything more than about one or two small marks that are visible to the naked eye, and you're not likely to get in to a 66 holder unless the rest of the coin is stunning.

Russ, NCNE

keets

hey charlie

it sounds like you have the same problem i do-----when i get stuff home under proper lighting i see the truth!!!

al h.

moosesr

That's bad news, I don't know how the coins could be so nice on the obverse and have such bad marks only on the reverse in the shield area.

keets

probably from coin counters. it's the same reason why so many FBL franklins are held back to MS64. contact in the area of ben's cheek. many kennedy's that i see suffer just under the eye and at the jawline and neck just under the ear. as russ said, with those key areas mark free, you'll move into the higher grades.

al h.

DHeath

Charlie, are the halves 71-73? Many of these coins have a scuff on the shield that is common fresh from the mint envelope.

FC57Coins

In looking over the coins I just had graded by PCGS, any kind of mark on the face will put you in the 65/64 range. They're a little bit more forgiving on the shield. As Russ mentioned, on a nice coin, maybe a couple of scuffs on the shield will still get you into 66 territory. What drives me buggy are the miniscule dings that are commonplace on cupronickel coins and that are very hard to judge/see. If you're looking for a high end piece - 66 or above, you have to look for very smooth surfaces under strong light. On most Kennedy's you will pick up a lot of "chatter" on the surface of otherwise beautiful coins. If this "chatter" covers more than a third of the surface of the coin you're looking at a 64.

Frank

nwcs

Here's mine that is MS-66. It's flashier in person, much flashier. But not a bad image overall.

Picture link

cladking

In addition to the nicks and scratches on the shield, you'll also find many
of the early 80's coins are plagued by scrapes. These are very wide and
very shallow. Even under good incandescent lighting they can be almost
invisible until the coin is tipped at steeper angle than where the other marks
show up. Fewer than 1% of mint set coins are clean and some dates may not
exist as gems except from mint sets.

FC57Coins

That's a very "frothy" 64 NWCS - better make sure you put it in a bank vault or something and keep it away from Russ!

nwcs

I really thought it would get a 67. I think it's because there was a little residue from the mint roll I took it from. I didn't think to acetone bathe it before submitting. Still new at that.

keithdagen

Hits on the shield and tail feathers are critical, and to get a 67, those feathers better be pretty well defined. Early Kennedys are plagued by softly struck feathers. On the obverse, the cheek area is critical.