nineteen seventies.

this year marks the last of the silver-clad proofs until the bicentennial coins; the net composition is forty percent silver and sixty percent copper, resulting in .1479 troy oz. of pure silver in each coin. a scarce die variety exists for this proof: a doubled die obverse with all the lettering doubled, most prominently on "we trust". depending on condition, this variety is valued at over ten times the price of the normal issue. the mint was seriously working on quality this year (and later); cameo proofs become the norm rather than the exception in the early seventies, and general quality is first-rate.

no more silver half dollars for a while, as the bullion value rose enough to make even the forty percent issues a hoarded item. composition of proof kennedy half dollars is now a seventy five percent copper - twenty five percent nickel outer layer bonded to a core of pure copper, with a slightly lighter weight of 11.34 grams and the same 30.6 mm diameter. the copper-nickel alloy outer layer is an agreeable color and strikes up well, resulting in some very attractive and well-detailed coins. three interesting die varieties exist for this year: first is a doubled die obverse very evident on "trust" and part of the date, second also a doubled die obverse visible on "we trust" and some of the hair, and third is a doubled die reverse with doubling evident on "half dollar", "america", and some of the stars.

kennedy half dollars are one of the most popularly collected series of modern coinage for a couple of reasons: the first being the fact that kennedy was assassinated during the early lifetime of many coin collectors, and second being the reduction and eventual removal of silver from the coins beginning immediately after the design's release. proofs of nineteen seventy two continue the mint's emphasis on quality, with beautiful cameo strikes in abundance. some may be found with deep frost on all the devices and even the lettering.

this marks the tenth year of kennedy half dollar production, with fewer proofs made (by about half a million) than previous years. cameo frosted coins are numerous, and strike quality is excellent. the obverse of this coin was adapted from kennedy's inauguration medal of nineteen sixty one, a large model of which was still on hand at the mint, making the incredible speed of the process from treasury dept. proposal to finished coin possible. chief engraver gilroy roberts said later that the rushed time frame (six weeks) could happen only because the models still existed and could be used in making the new dies.

proof kennedys of this date have no major varieties yet, but that certainly doesn't mean there are none. varieties are discovered by collectors, not announced by the mint, so it's time to do some careful examination! a good magnifier (cherrypicker's guide says if you can't see the variety with a seven power lens, it's likely not worth searching for) and a good light source are essential. now, where to look: one. the serifs (tips) of all the lettering, two. "in god we trust", three. the outlines of kennedy and the eagle, four. star points, arrow tips, and any "sharp" edges of design. since most kennedy varieties are doubled die, look for dual images and/or separation lines. if the doubled die is caused by rotational shifting it is most visible closest to the rim, if caused by lateral shifting it is usually most visible on "in god we trust". good luck!

there are no kennedy half dollars dated nineteen seventy five, but we include this year because millions were made in nineteen seventy five, so here are a few details. in order to give the mint time to prepare for huge quantities of bicentennial issues, dies dated nineteen seventy five were not made. congress passed an amendment (december twenty sixth nineteen seventy four) to allow for coins to be dated differently from the year of issue, resulting in coins dated nineteen seventy four being continued in nineteen seventy five, and seventeen seventy six-nineteen seventy six dated coins being made in large quantities. as yet, no diagnostics have appeared which will differentiate the year on the coin from the actual year of manufacture. something more for collectors to search for!

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the bicentennial half dollar is dual-dated (seventeen seventy six-nineteen seventy six), as were many earlier commemorative half dollars of the nineteen twenties, thirties, and forties. the reverse depiction of philadelphia's independence hall is from seth g. huntington's winning entry for the bicentennial design selection contest. a similar perspective of this famous building appears on the nineteen twenty six sesquicentennial quarter eagle, designed by john sinnock; look up pictures of both coins for an interesting comparison. struck in both nineteen seventy five and nineteen seventy six, the obverse is unchanged except for the dual date. mintage numbers on the silver-clad proofs is an estimate, as many remained unsold after years and were finally melted in nineteen eighty two; this applies to bicentennial quarters and ikes as well; all the silver- clad seventeen seventy six-nineteen seventy six coins were sold in sets containing the quarter, half dollar, and dollar.

proofs of nineteen seventy seven resume the copper-nickel clad series, with excellent strikes and cameo portraits the norm. when evaluating proof kennedy half dollars, four areas are examined: one. hairlines: most coins have very few and/or minor hairlines with many pristine, two. reflectivity: all three alloys show deeply mirrored fields, many have frosted devices and lettering, three. strike: nearly all are fully struck with complete detail, four. eye appeal: this single most important area is plentiful in the kennedy series. proof half dollars with heavily frosted devices and lettering are truly beautiful coins; copper-nickel alloy displays this well, as do most of the silver coins.

making proof half dollars in the millions of coins is a formidable task. individual planchets are polished and inspected for defects, then taken to a high pressure (one hundred and ten plus tons), slow speed coining press for multiple impressions. at a very optimistic five thousand impressions per proof die, nineteen seventy eight's proof issue used at least six hundred and twenty five pairs of specially made dies! don't forget that during the life of each die, the field must be regularly polished and the devices chemically or mechanically treated in order for each kennedy half dollar to have a mirror field and attractively frosted devices and lettering.

this year's proofs offer two distinct mintmark varieties! due to deterioration of the original 's' punch, the mintmark changed during the year's production run at the san francisco mint. type one, also called "filled s", had an issue of three million, two hundred and fourty nine thousand, one hundred and seventy five proofs; this variety is identified by a mintmark described as an "s-shaped blob", and that is indeed what it looks like! type two, the "clear s", is much scarcer with an issue of only four hundred and twenty eight thousand proofs. the "clear s" is just that, a clear, sharp letter with the inner fields (those enclosed within the curves of the 's') sharp and distinct; it is valued about four times higher than the type one.