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Rick Tomaska on the 1964 Specimen Kennedy Half Dollar

2022-10-04 18:00:00
Posted in: News, News

Rick Tomaska on the 1964 Specimen Kennedy Half Dollar

From the desk of Rick Tomaska:

I love this coin!  It is the MOST spectacular Kennedy half dollar I have EVER owned!

One of the most mysterious coins in US history, is the 1964 Specimen Kennedy.  Much like the famed 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, this coin should not exist and the exact number of examples struck is unknown.  About a dozen examples have been discovered, and it’s estimated no more than 15 were struck.

But what is it?  It’s almost easier to define what it isn’t.  It’s not a 1964 Proof, it’s not a 1964 Special Mint Set piece, and the finish on the surfaces suggest a different preparation and production from a regular business strike 1964 half.  If I was forced to categorize the strike, I would probably classify it as being closest to the Matte Finish Proofs – like the 1921 Satin Finish Peace Dollar.

First, preparation:  The 1964 Specimen is clearly identifiable from a regular business strike by the innumerable die polishing marks on Obverse & Reverse.  This high level of die polishing, normally only seen on Proof Dies, normally produces a prooflike or at least semi-prooflike coin.  On the 1964 Specimen thought, the die polishing lead to bright lustrous surfaces, without any of the reflectivity of a Proof coin, often referred to as a “Satin” finish. 

Additionally, the obverse and reverse dies, there was only one die pair, used appear to have been specially produced just for these coins and not used again in any coin production.  One of the key diagnostic die markers is on the obverse in the form of the "Dangling 4": a small but clearly defined protrusion/defect hanging from the tip of the right crossbar in the 4 in the date.

Second, production: This example has uncommonly sharp definition; in fact, the striking details rival that of a proof, which would indicate the coin was struck multiple times – something unheard of for business strike coins.  Additionally, this coin lacks any indication of bagmarks – meaning it was likely taken directly from the production line and placed into some form of packaging.

When one adds up all these characteristics, it seems that the intent on the Mint's part was to produce the ultimate specimen 1964 half dollar. But why?

There have been dozens of theories since the first Specimen set went up for auction at Stacks in 1991.  The currently predominant theory, that I personally feel is the correct answer all comes back to Mint Director Adams.  From Stacks Bowers:

“It is not known for certain that these were indeed experimental coins produced to work out the finish for the future Special Mint Sets or quite what their purpose may have been. Two months after the first set appeared for sale, [Mint Director] Adams died on August 23, 1991. The most likely explanation so far offered as to their origin is that the coins were probably produced for Director Adams, who may have intended them to be distributed them as gifts or she opted to keep them for herself. The coins were then sold by her family (or possibly another Mint employee) through New York coin dealer Lester Merkin towards the end of her life. Merkin himself died in June of 1992 and any remaining sets in his estate were also sold over the next couple of years. Between 1991 and 1995, nine such sets were offered in Stack's sales, none of which in any form of Mint packaging (in fact, the discovery set came in a nondescript aftermarket plastic holder). In all, about a dozen such specially produced 1964 half dollars have so far been traced, making them the rarest purpose-made non-error issue of the entire Kennedy series and among the most puzzling and challenging of all modern US coins. Sale of these coins are equally fleeting, with the coins almost invariably ending up in tightly held collections.”

 

So far, I have only found one possibly credible alternative theory, provided here by NGC’s own website:

Once thought to be prototypes for the Special Mint Set coins of 1965-67, the 1964 Specimen strikes do have a story to tell, but not that one. Starting in the 1950s, possibly dating to the arrival of Vladimir Clain-Steffanelli as curator in 1957, the Smithsonian's National Coin Collection received fresh strikes of each year's coinage through all or most of the 1970s. These were forwarded by the Philadelphia Mint and consisted of ordinary coinage of the type made for circulation, but the dies were fresh and sharp, retaining the satiny fields characteristic of new dies, along the with fine, irregular polishing lines also typical of new currency dies. This distribution was not known to anyone outside of either institution, and when perhaps a couple dozen sets of 1964(P) coins from cent through half dollar came into the market in the early 1990s, their distinctive appearance was noted.”

Any way you cut it; this is a one-of-a-kind Kennedy half dollar that likely see the open market again in my lifetime.  Unlike some of the other purpose made, non-error coins, like the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, which trade for millions of dollars each time they reach auction, this nearly equal rarity is available for just a fraction of that price.

For reference, in a recent Heritage auction an SP67, a half point lower than this coin, sold for $108,000.  Again, in the words of Stacks Bowers:

Sale of these coins are equally fleeting, with the coins almost invariably ending up in tightly held collections.”

This coin is irreplaceable!