Bold "4" on Kennedy in '84 proof set

wattsitworth

I have an '84 proof set with a bold "4" in the date of the Kennedy half. As I roll the coin away, the "198" will disappear, but the 4 still stands tall. Has anyone run across something like this?

Shamika

wattsitworth,

Welcome to the Forum. Do you have a picture of the coin?

cladking

Welcome aboard.

wattsitworth

A picture doesn't really do it justice since it is in the plastic case. I might get out the old butter knife tonight and destroy history. If I do, I'll pic it & repost.

Ray

mgoodm3

Sounds like the "Disappearing 3" on 2003 sets.

richbeat

What you describe is not uncommon or unusual. It is most likely the result of how the date is engraved into the galvano or master die. Here are a couple of excerpts from the Cherrypickers' Guide that describes the process:

Page 333 "Prior to the mid 1980s, the Mint only placed the first two digits of the date on the galvano. As a result, the master hub only contained the first two digits of the date. This allowed the master hub to produce master dies over a several year period. In fact, the master hub could be used over a period of a couple of decades."

Page 335 "The final step in the production of the master die was adding the last two digits of the date. These digits were either hand-punched or engraved into the master die each year."

I've seen a photo of Frank Gasparro with a cent galvano from the 1970s, showing the date as 197x, the x being the missing digit. When the Mint was getting ready to strike halves for 1984, they engraved the last digit (4) into the galvano. If that 4 was engraved a little deeper than the other digits, it will look a little stronger than the other digits. I've noticed this also on halves from the 1960s, especially halves from 1968.