Mission continued 1954 Franklin PF-68 Cameo purchased today

[JIM F.]

This is the first non PF-69 Cameo (or higher), but all in all it should fit in well as I continue my mission of buying these high-grade proof Franklins.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160442918825&_trksid=p2761.l1259

 

 

[Coindude]

Jim if you are going to continue to purchase these cameo Franky's, which by the way I love and have owned many and still own many especially raw ones, I would recommend Rick Tomaska's book on Cameos. If you have any questions about early cams, I'd be more than willing to answer any questions.

[JIM F.]

Thanks. I was looking at his website yesterday. His books have 2 varieties "LE" and "RE", and other than the list price I have no idea what the difference is. Can you shed light on this?

 

Thanks.

 

 

[Coindude]

I'm guessing the LE is the Limited Edition and the RE is the Regular Edition? I have owned a couple of those books over those years and given a couple away. Also, there's a predecessor to that book by Val J. Webb. Cameo coins of the 1950 - 1964 era. That is if I'm not mistaken. No pictures in Val's book, but it's a wealth of knowledge and very hard to find. I have a copy of that book as well. Rick's book is really good because there are a lot of pictures on the progression of the cameo.

[Matt Parsons]

Wow, you on are on hot streak! I have to admire you and all of the great coins you have bought up this past week.

Great addition.

 

Do you have any pics of the set you are building?

Id love to see them all sometime.

Take care, Matt

[JIM F.]

Here's links to the others I've acquired -- all in a week's time.

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4072675#Post4072675

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4067677#Post4067677

 

I just started the set, so hopefully more to come with helpful advice appreciated.

 

 

[rons]

My advice is to get the early years first while you still have some money

[physics-fan3.14]

You have been buying some really nice coins. The early years are going to give you quite a bit of trouble, unless you have a really high budget.

 

The thing with proof Franklin cameos is - you can generally find them pretty easily. You just have to be able to afford them. Cameo's are far scarcer than their un-cameo'd counterparts, but they trade pretty regularly. The earlier dates are another story - from 1950 to 1955, the UCAMs are incredibly scarce. Cams are available if you can afford them. After 1956, don't settle for anything less than a CAM, and if you can afford it buy a UCAM (1959 is a key date with UCAM contrast, and 1958 is hard too).

 

The main varieties of the set are the 1956 Type I (which is significantly scarcer than Type II, especially with cameo contrast), and the 1961 DDR. I had the pleasure of holding a 1961 PR-67 CAM DDR at FUN one year, and it was a highlight of the show.

[SkyMan]

I'm guessing the LE is the Limited Edition and the RE is the Regular Edition? I have owned a couple of those books over those years and given a couple away. Also, there's a predecessor to that book by Val J. Webb. Cameo coins of the 1950 - 1964 era. That is if I'm not mistaken. No pictures in Val's book, but it's a wealth of knowledge and very hard to find. I have a copy of that book as well. Rick's book is really good because there are a lot of pictures on the progression of the cameo.

 

If you are a member of the ANA they have Webb's book in their library. Being a member I borrowed it and copied it (and obviously sent the book back).

 

It's hard to tell much from those pix, but your '54 appears to be a nice coin. Here, I'll throw in a couple of minors so you can have them with your '54 thread... I bought these raw and sent them in to PCGS. The quarter came back PR66CAM and the dime came back PR67. The dime is a tougher date (for '50 - '64), but I still don't see why it didn't at least cameo.

 

 

[SkyMan]

The thing with proof Franklin cameos is - you can generally find them pretty easily. You just have to be able to afford them. Cameo's are far scarcer than their un-cameo'd counterparts, but they trade pretty regularly. The earlier dates are another story - from 1950 to 1955, the UCAMs are incredibly scarce. Cams are available if you can afford them. After 1956, don't settle for anything less than a CAM, and if you can afford it buy a UCAM (1959 is a key date with UCAM contrast, and 1958 is hard too).

 

Here's how I would rate Franklins for difficulty of collecting in cameo/UCAM. Those on the first line are the easiest to find and then it gets progressively more difficult. Coins on the same line are approximately the same difficulty level for finding. The first two lines I'd get only in UCAM, although I can certainly understand your getting them in PR69Cameo, which should be a really clean and attractively contrasted coin.

 

1956, 1962, 1963;

 

1960, 1961;

 

1954, 1955, 1957;

 

1951, 1953, 1958;

 

1952, 1959;

 

1950.

[Schatzy]

Here is my 1954 PF-68 Cameo.......will get a UC some day!!

[Coindude]

The 50 is actually a pretty high percentage in cameo for the given mintage. It is tough, don't get me wrong, especially in higher grades and in ucam/dcam.