Combining vacation, reading , coins and more

[RichH]

almost 50 years ago , JFK and the 1964 PF Accented Hair Variety

 

Hi everyone,

 

I recently returned from a great vacation last week in Hilton Head, SC. The low country is quite beautiful and except for the fact that I got skunked flyfishing for tailing redfish I had a great time (actually I always have a great time fishing whether I catch or don't catch fish).

One thing I was able to do on vacation was catch up on my reading, and I devoured both of O'Reilly's "Killing Kennedy" and "Killing Lincoln" works, both great , enjoyable reads !!!

Anyway, to tie to coins, the Kennedy assassination is now 50 years this November ( time flies) and even though I was a nine year old at that time, I vividly remember exactly where I was and how to this day this tragedy may be the most significant historical event of my lifetime.

The Kennedy read led me to the 1964 90% silver Kennedy half dollar issue and additional coin research to the Proof

"Accented Hair" variety .

The "Accented Hair" variety is a very small portion of the total Proof mintage of 3.9M, its estimated that only 1 to 3% are of the "Accented" variety.

The variety is easily diagnosed on the obverse by the"wishbone" hair effect above the ear and the truncated "I" in Liberty serif, and on the reverse by the "broken rays" and straight "G" in Gasparro's initial. A pretty cool coin ! From my research, the story goes that Jackie Kennedy did not like the hair depiction on JFK's bust and the US mint retooled the die to make her happy, (she's Jackie Kennedy for goodness sake) !

In checking out NGC pops and pricing about 1.5% of the total estimated "Accented" coins have been submitted to NGC, or around 3,000 pieces as compared to approx 16,000 PF of the standard coin or only 0.4% submissions. This is of interest and fully explained by the fact that the Accented variety is approx $80 in PF66 compared to $25 in PF 66 without the variety .

My opinion is that the "Accented" variety may have some potential next year on its 50th anniversary, especially in grades over PF 66 and in PFCA and PFUC grades. I will add a few of these to my collection as practical ( see pic of my 1st purchase), a great reminder of that infamous day in history.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Rich

 

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[Six Mile Rick]

Rich,

You had us all set up for a big fish tale!! I spent the last two weeks putting a new floor in a customers pontoon. It's almost time for spotted bass fishing.

 

Rick

[hunter's gold]

Nice coin. Very nice. Now to the fishing part I live on a lake in Florida and of course have access to both coast. I just spent a week in Maine and was looking forward too fishing up there for stuff like smallies and things I have never had a chance to fish for but did not have a chance to fish at all. Watching tailing reds and trying to get a bait too them without spooking them is always a challenge.

[RichH]

Well guys, there is always a fish story, and I can happily say that I did get the redfish to" eat the fly" and had him on for a few seconds, but the strike was literally "in the grass" in about 1-2 ft. of water with grass that high or more. Just getting the fly down to the water and in front of where the redfish was feeding was a challenge. Hunter, you are exactly correct. When the redfish tails he is 100% focused on feeding and you can carefully get to about 15' or so without spooking. As soon as you get spotted, WHOOSH GONE !!!!! Anyway. I really am possessed to get the redfish on a fly, its a very serious fish and a great challenge. Flyfishing to me is alot like coin collecting, you gotta put your time in to be somewhat proficient.

 

Happy collecting, and "tight lines"

 

Rich

[Six Mile Rick]

Now this journal seems complete.

 

Great Kennedy!!

[coinsbygary]

Rich

I may not be much of a fisherman, but I am a coin collector and your explanation of the accented Kennedy Half is the most clear and concise I have heard. Now I may have to get one of those for my collection. I was 5 years old when President Kennedy was assassinated and I still remember brief glimpses of the incident on TV. As they always say about fisherman, better luck next time!

Gary

[RichH]

Thank you Gary.

 

You can purchase a PQ PF66 for under $100, which in looking at the grades and price represents the best value IMO. The PFCA and PFUC's get to crazy money. I also think nice PF65's are a good value, and the other economical way to obtain the coin is through buying the 1964 "Accented" Proof Set in the original US mint packaging. These "Accented" proof sets will cost 2.5X to 3X the standard issue, but also offer nice value.

Good fishing ( or hunting ) on this one !!

 

Rich

[Yankeejose]

Great info Rich. Sorry you did not catch "the big one". I will have to search Google to find out what a redfish is-sorry to say. I also would like to have one of these AH for my collection. This is one of those coins that seems to sell for equal to or higher than the listed FMV prices. I was just looking at PCGS Proof 65 on Ebay that is at $87 with still a day to go. Holding out for a 66 I agree is a better purchase. The values may have gone up when they came out with the Top 100 modern coin list.