Prooflike US Type Set
50C KENNEDY, CLAD (1965-DATE)


Obverse
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Reverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Origin/Country: United States
Design Description: HALF DOLLARS - KENNEDY
Item Description: 50C 1989 P
Grade: NGC MS 65 DPL
Owner: physics-fan3.14
 
Winning Set: Prooflike US Type Set
Date Added: 12/12/2011
Research: See NGC's Census Report for this Coin

Owner's Description

Total Graded: 39284
Total Deep Prooflike: 3
Percentage: 0.0076%

I don’t like how the Kennedy set is divided in this Registry set. The Kennedy from 1958 through 1970 was made with 40% silver, and thus represents a distinct subtype (different from the later clad coins.) Thus, I will talk about the two eras separately.

The earlier 40% silver Kennedy’s took place during the height of the 1968-1972 era of prooflikes – these coins are quite easy to obtain in PL condition. There are even a couple of DPL coins from 1970D. I myself own a number of these coins, from 1968D, 1969D, and 1970D. These are all early strikes, and all have flashy mirrors.

The modern era Kennedys are some of the most attractive of modern prooflikes, because the large coin and open fields give plenty of room to appreciate the deep mirrors. The Kennedy itself is a rather plain coin, but the widespread availability of prooflike Kennedy’s means that it will be an affordable entry into your set. There are many dates of prooflike Kennedy’s available, each with generally at least a couple of coins. What is not generally available, however, is a Deep Prooflike Kennedy! There is just a single coin graded in the entire clad series, and it is mine!

(A quick note: in 2014, the mint released a special set of high relief Kennedy halves. Many of these were specially polished, and have been designated as “PL” or “DPL.” Because these coins were specially and intentionally produced this way, I consider them more as “special mint set” coins – and will not be including one in my set.)

My coin is a lower grade than I would like, being only a 65 DPL, but the mirrors are superlative. Just a glimpse of light and the coin becomes as blinding as headlights. As I mentioned, the large open fields allow ample appreciation of the qualities – but they unfortunately also leave plenty of room for tick marks. Prooflike coins are generally graded more harshly than regular strikes because every little mark shows up so well against the mirrored background. Prooflikes are actually graded very similarly to proof coins. While the coins were generally treated harshly like normal business strikes (and thus picked up more marks than proof coins), they also show each mark so much more clearly. High grade prooflikes are hard to find, but they are attractive! There are a number of fine tickmarks covering the obverse of this coin, but the strike is strong and bold (are you noticing this seems to be a theme for a lot of prooflike coins?) This is probably one of the first 5 coins off this pair of dies, because the mirrored surfaces quickly wore off the dies. The texture of the surfaces also bears mention – as you can see in the pictures, there is an intriguing texture on the surface of this coin.

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