Another presentation 1964 JFK half dollar, this one from a senator
JBK
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@DrDarryl posted an excellent thread recently about a presentation 1964 JFK half dollar accompanied by its original letter from President Lyndon B. Johnson. That inspired me to pick up an item that I had been watching on ebay for the past few months.
It is a 1964 JFK half that was sent by Senator Birch Bayh to a constituent.
The presentation is not nearly as nice as @DrDarryl 's example, and therefore the provenance is not as ironclad as his, but the coin certainly looks like it has been taped to the cardboard for 56 years.
I am now trying to decide if I should have the coin cleaned of any contaminants (but not dipped for color) and then slabbed for preservation purposes. Any suggestions or opinions would be welcomed.
I noted that the date of the letter is the same as the LBJ ones - March 24, 1964. This makes me wonder if the mint made examples available to certain political figures on that date, or if Sen. Bayh regifted a half dollar he got from LBJ.
Comments
Way cool
Nice tape job. Classy.
Very cool.
To me, the tape is just part of the story.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Interesting that the letter said that the coin was given "two weeks prior to the general distribution" I wonder how the Senator had access to coinage that was not yet available to the public,
“commemorative” coin? Were they thinking a one year, back to Franklin situation hmmmmm
Yes definitely need to keep as is.
About as classy as the 2014 3/4 oz. Kennedy gold piece, shouldn't it of been a full oz?
Some reagent grade acetone would get the tape residue off easily enough. It might be worth it to keep the coin from deteriorating further. I wonder what the reverse looks like.
Mr_Spud
I'd keep it as is. Cool.
Leave it just as it is.
I would send it to PCGS. If you want someone to handle it, I would use the PCGS service.
Very cool Jeff. I'm leaning toward leaving it as is, but also see the appeal of it being slabbed as long as the label states what it is. If you have it slabbed, keep good pictures of it as it is now.
Here's an AP Wire photo of the 1st Day Issued, March 24, 1964.
I wouldn’t. I think slabbing it would kill the charm.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
I'm 100% okay with the loss of that "charm"
It's just on a piece of cardboard. It's not as if the item it's taped to has any special text or seal on it.
That’s all true, but I’d much rather have such a coin out of a holder and with the tape. You may, of course, have yours slabbed.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Well, it's really up to the OP right? The OP mentioned considering slabbing it for preservation purposes and asked for suggestions, so we're both providing ours.
You may, of course, have yours remain taped
Removing the coin from the cardboard and lifting off the tape residue would make it just like all of the other millions of 64 Kennedys.
If it was a rare or special variety, I might agree with some level of conservation, but it is not. JMO
A very cool piece, indeed!
I disagree it would look like all the other 64 Kennedys. I certainly wouldn't dip it. Keeping the awesome tape toning pattern would retain the charm for me.
This I agree with.
It's up to the OP but if it was mine I would send it in for conservation and grading IF they would write on the label about how it is a presentation piece.
Agree having the provenance is very important.
PCGS just added the "Ex. Corning II Mayor of Albany" provenance for @Goldminers so I'm optimistic here too.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1012171/gold-albany-bi-centennial-cradle-of-the-union-so-called-dollar-hk-511#latest
Thx all for the input so far. I have some agreement with all the suggestions.
I am inherently apprehensive about being the one to peel the coin off the cardboard after all these years, but I also am sensitive to the longer-term preservation considerations.
If a TPG would recognize the provenance on the label then I might be more willing to consider that route.
If I was in the market for a historical item like this, I'd want it to be original. IMO, putting the coin in a hunk of plastic = Not interested.
Do you ever buy historical items like this?
Lots of coins are removed from original holders, slabbed and kept / sold with the original paperwork.
Here's an original holder I have that I won't remove, but this is a bit different than what we have here.
I have bought historical items in the past.
Yes, I understand that's so. As mentioned above, the OP mentioned considering slabbing it for preservation purposes and asked for suggestions, so we're both providing ours.
Why?
I will say that if donating it to a museum or say the ANS is a future consideration, I would keep it on the cardboard.
Read the text on the token
That exact scenario had not immediately crossed my mind, but it is worth considering that type of situation. The whole package as originally created might be of more historical interest as is (I also have the original mailing envelope).
I read it. As long as the slab included the provenance, why would it matter if the token was removed?
The JFK half dollar doesn't say it comes taped to cardboard
But it did come that way, which is part of its history and presentation.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
No, it doesn't. Ok... so you're in favor of maintaining historical items in their original condition- just not this one.
Commemorative in a layman’s sense versus a numismatist’s, I think. The Ike dollar, like the Kennedy half, was issued shortly after the general’s death and was thought of as a ‘commemorative coin’ in a general sense too.
This is part of the history and presentation of the 1913 Liberty Head nickels as it used to hold them all. Unfortunately, not a single one is stored it in anymore
To me, the cardboard is more like this holder than the cocoabola wood.
It's okay for different people to value the cardboard differently.
Somebody was presented with that? Who? And who made the presentation?
Colonel Green presented it to his audience of course.
You may be using the "presentation" more formally than I am.
I believe Birch Bayh would have thought the cardboard would be saved less than even Green's nickel holder.
The coin in the OPs post was given (presented) to the person who received it. Did Colonel Green give the coins to his audience?
The word "present" doesn't necessarily mean "give" a physical thing.
I present slides and give talks (presentations) all the time which don't involve giving some physical object.
How cool would it be to display that holder with one (or more) of the 1913 nickels in it?! But alas, I only got halfway there.😉
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
I do think it would be nice, but the current owners of the nickels apparently do not.
This holder did sell for over $10K without any coins. I don't think the cardboard would go for that much.
No, it doesn't.
Ok. You're using the word to mean something different than the OP. Got it.
That's nitpicking to me. We can of course choose to interpret it differently.
You obviously value the cardboard more than I, and others, do. That's ok. We don't have to convince each other.
The difference between giving something to someone and showing it to them is nitpicking? Ok.
BTW- I'm not trying to convince you of anything.
I'd make a cool frame for that and hang it as is.
Tape is cool sometimes. Possible bloody fingerprints, not so much:
It is to me here.
Good to know. Thanks.
Think ahead to the collectors of the future. Keep it All exactly as found. Tape cardboard and everything. No one can recover originality, but You can preserve it.
What I want to know is who is Miller Carbon and why he was chosen to receive this
I imagine that the reverse is toned black or at least as dark as the areas not covered by the type. The coin is mounted on cardboard which is full of sulfur. It is best to leave this coin where it is.
This reminds me of a 1950 Proof set I saw many years ago that was housed in a custom made, inscribed presentation case. The case had partially melted, which had damaged the coins, but it was subscribed to a cabinet member of the Truman administration, I forget which one. The price was $200 below the Grey Sheet bid for the set at the time, about $300, because of the damage, but I now regret not buying it. It was a unique item.
The reverse is part of what made me consider stabbing it. I was surprised by the lack of adverse effects of the tape adhesive but I assume the cardboard is not safe for the reverse. I suppose any damage has been done by now.
I might consider slipping a piece of acid free paper or Mylar in between the coin and cardboard to act as a barrier to prevent any ongoing damage from the cardboard. The tape seems to not be an issue at this point.