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 Replies: 13 / Views: 3,827 |
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New Member
6 Posts |
I have been intrigued by this set and the beauty of them. I recently purchased a few older snap close mint sets and was very surprised to find a few of these 1964 SMS coins. I looked at a few other single case Kennedy halves and believe I found one. It has the sand blasted looking surface that also is satin sheen with square rim and extremely sharp strike. I found images of a graded one sold on stacks and compared what I had to it. I found the special surface is what I believe to be sand blasted planchets that were struck with modified and polished dies. all of both sides including letters have the special treated surface. I checked this coin as I noticed that the rim edge had a sandy look of the surface the coin should have... It was like "Here I Am"... It is truly beautiful to look at and seems to be the real deal. Here are a few images of this coin and the graded one that I compared it to...     |
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New Member
 6 Posts |
Looking at the usual 4/5 graded images are tough to figure out. Lighting and angle does not help. I noticed the few SMS in the set I purchased had squared rim and noticeable sandy coating on the rim edge of the quarter and dime...
Nice bold strike, satiny looking with same surface as this kennedy.
The kennedy has the lines on reverse Of America and Half Dollar among other notable markers. The redish sparkle look like in graded images are the surface on this one including letters.
I was released to find images of this graded coin as other images look like the letters and such look smooth rather than grainy like business strike coins do. This kennedy has letters and such that are smoothed and have same bumpy sandy gritty look as the graded coin has.
There is mark under 4 that is noticeable with loop and seperation doubling "In God We" as it should.
It seems like the nickel and half are the tough ones of this set. I have the 5c, 10c, 25c, All as they should be. Million hours looking at images on Heritage and matching marks and polishing lines... whewwwwww..
I think I have the nickel as it has funny polishing similar to other 64 SMS... looks satiny but we shall see..
I have this Kennedy and 1 other that has same finish..
Be nice if I could have the full set but content with the few...
I definitely believe that a dozen sets or more were set aside for mint director.. many more were made and what was left mixed in with other bags or offered in mint store, give aways, bank mint sets contracted with mint etc.
That explains the nice sets. It also explains how more singles continue to pop up but not quite as nice.
All in set are like 10 coins in one each. You look at them one way, you see something, look another way you see something different... hard to hunt for what you really don't know for sure.
That's why I was so happy to discover that as long as the sandy bumpy finish is on the whole coin except reeded area with bold strike, perfect looking clean lettering, squared rim, die markers, polishing lines same directions.. good chance you have one.
Amen...
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New Member
6 Posts |
Edited by Peaceman1
01/02/2022 08:17 am
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New Member
6 Posts |
Interesting story about these coins. I believe he purchased and brought to our attention. Just for me... I believe very seriously that an unknown quantity was made and the nice sets discovered were set aside for the mint director. The rest of these were disbursed without melting... otherwise I wouldn't have the penny, dime, quarter for certain..
I have a Lincoln same dies with regular business planchet and added polishing lines..
I have a dime same dies on regular business planchet...
The penny has definite die markers and remnants of nice satin reverse..
The dime exact polishing marks but cheesy banged up planchet...
So ... they modified this dies yet again and burned em out I believe..
Nobody ever finds the coins because they buy into there is only so many...
I believe yeah.. so many ... but how many?
The two I just posted have all the markers bells and whistles... Square rim and definitely the special finish.. so?
If I can put together somewhat of an ok set from just other sets then... they are out there...
The nickel and Kennedy are tougher.. only because nobody's looking because story says only so and so..
They don't know exactly what to even look for...
Look for a coin like I posted here.. Square rim, nice sharp bold strike, and it must have a super fine sandpaper finish... look at a piece of very fine grit sandpaper... that's what it looks like in hand in areas and other areas silky.. It also has a strange leopard blotchy all over pattern exactly like the redish silvery look of graded images posted.. plus scribble polishing lines and usual polishing lines..
Also needs have basic markers on reverse and the little metal under the 4 looks like sometimes a dot, a bump, a short tiny apostrophe or just a very small raised bit of
Metal...
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Moderator
 United States
94636 Posts |
The last set of pictures are nice close-up s. But if you think you have an SMS '64 Kennedy, maybe you should include an extreme close up of the 4 in the date, and the other areas that are said to be 'die markers' for the SMS. images of which you did not include yet. So, until I see them, I'll have to say that it is very unlikely that you have the rare 1964 SMS Kennedy half |
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New Member
6 Posts |
Right where it's supposed to be... The surfaces that are identical to graded image I posted is really proof as there are no 64 kennedys with that surface other than the SMS. All lines around stars and rays match, under eafles mouth lines match... Sorry.. it is one.  |
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New Member
6 Posts |
The lines on reverse are there too.. post them later...
When the finish matches and all those things are present.. and when every die scratch pretty much matches especially like from a star going to a Ray and another exact same below it type thing that matches graded ones..
It is in fact genuine. But again, the surfaces... no other like them were made with a straight G. After that there might be with Flared G.
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New Member
6 Posts |
The seperation "In God We" you can clearly see as well as pretty much same die crack inside of the 4.
I will post images later of Lines on reverse "Of America" and "Half Dollar"... maybe a few extras to button this up..
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3467 Posts |
Send it in and share the grade when it comes back.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1655 Posts |
My opinion, there is no chance any of your coins are sms, but you are convinced so you will have to send them in to be attributed. Despite extensive searching, no one other than you has ever found a single 1964 SMS coin in the wild, yet you have found what, 6 at least? What are the odds?
Edited by lcutler
01/02/2022 6:56 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2189 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4587 Posts |
Nope. No way.
There are perhaps a dozen known, all traceable to the former mint director's personal collection. None of them have bag marks, reed dings and the like, like these coins have.
-----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7504 Posts |
Quote:
My opinion, there is no chance any of your coins are sms  |
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Moderator
United States
94636 Posts |
Quote:
Nope. No way.
There are perhaps a dozen known, all traceable |
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Replies: 13 / Views: 3,827 |
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Posted 01/02/2022 06:31 am
