A JFK gold piece, and some memories of the JFK half dollar in 1964

[BillJones]

Here is my example of the 2014 John F. Kennedy gold piece. I have this piece as a result of an act of kindness by one of the PCGS board members. It is a very attractive, and I'm glad that it is in my collection.

 

 

My memories began with the assassination. I was in the ninth grade at the time, the outpouring of grief around the nation was unprecedented. In the wake of this Congress quickly passed legislation that authorized a John F. Kennedy coin. There was some talk of changing the quarter but ultimately the half dollar was chosen. Given the timing, which came in late December 1963 the mint was under intense pressure to produce the new coins in a short period of time.

 

In those days producing a new coin design was a long difficult process. Today new designs are developed on a computer and the master hub, which is the size of the finished coin, is made with a laser. Back in 1964 the artist produced a much larger than life (nine to twelve inches) mold of the coin design which was used, via the electroplating process, to make a metallic galvano. The galvano was placed in a Janvier reducing machine which traced the design from the galvano to produce the master hub. The device the cut the hub was something like a dentist's drill. This process alone could take as much as three weeks.

 

As I recall the mint was in a position to make Proof Kennedy half dollars by the end of January 1964. The first coins were the famous Accented Hair variety, which Mrs. Kennedy deemed to be inappropriate. Roughly 100,000 of these coins were made and included in the first 1964 Proof coins that were made.

 

 

After the adjustments were made, the remaining coins for both Proof and Uncirculated strikes were the "normal" variety.

 

 

The Proof sets were very popular and the mint was inundated with orders. The mintage would ultimately total a then record of 3,950,762 sets. Some of these sets were purchased by non collectors who clipped the JFK half dollar out of them and spent the rest of the coins. The numismatists at the Gimbels Department store coin counter told me that they got Proof dimes and quarters in change.

 

In the mean time the mint went into overtime making the new half dollars. The first pieces were released in April, and I had my first chance to see one in May when a teller at my local bank offered me one for face value. Unfortunately I didn't keep that coin, but I still have the 1964-D Kennedy half that bought for the then princely sum of $1.50 at the Gimbels coin counter. The 1964-D JFK half dollar would be the only coin in the series that would have the mint mark on the reverse.

 

 

During this time a severe coin shortage was developing in the economy. Part of blame was due to coin collectors and coin hoarders. The market for rolls of modern coins was active, and large numbers of new coins were involved with that.

 

Still two other factors were even more significant. First, there was a perception that the price of silver was going to rise to the point where the face value of the silver coinage would be less than its melt value. That point had not been reached and would not be reached for a few years, but the trend was developing. This prompted some people to remove quantities of coins from circulation.

 

Another part of the blame was shared by the U.S. mint system. The simple fact was the Philadelphia and Denver Mints did not have the capacity to supply enough coins to the economy. This was made worst by the unfortunate decision to close the San Francisco Mint in 1955. In sum the U.S. mint and coinage system was headed toward some major changes and the first of those changes occurred with the passage of the Coinage Act of 1965 which authorized the first of the clad coinage which we use today.

 

I'm sure that others will have more to add to this and correct that places I may have gone wrong, but these were my perceptions from 50 years ago.

[bsshog40]

Good read Bill! Glad ya got your gold one also!

[rrantique]

Good read Bill! Glad ya got your gold one also!

 

(thumbs u

[Conder101]

The 64 Kennedy's were first distributed March 24th.

 

The price of silver reached $1.29 an oz in July of 1963. At that point the silver in silver dollars exceeded the face value of the coin. It took a little while longer (til July 1967) to exceed $1.38, the point the minor silver coins metal content exceeded the face value.

 

The reason it took so long was because the Treasury still had its official market price of $1.29 per oz at which they would buy or sell silver. They weren't buying any but they were selling a LOT of it. In December of 1964 the Treasury silver stockpile was 1.2 billion oz. By December of 1965 it was 805 million, and by December of 1966 it was 594 million. 440 million of those oz were earmarked as backing for the silver certificates in circulation so only 154 million oz were actually available.

 

In July of 1967 the Treasury ended its official price for silver and it immediately jumped to $1.87 an oz, and by June of 1968 it reached $2.56 per oz. At that point a 1964 half dollar had close to one dollars worth of silver in it.

[RWB]

I recall buying a P and D pair of new Kennedy halves in April 1964 for $1.50 from a small coin dealer. My cousin, who was older, bought five sets.

 

The coins were especially popular in Communist countries. Use of a Kennedy half in a Moscow or Leningrad restaurant prompted superb service and personal attention of the chef. Ballet and concert tickets miraculously appeared to be paid for in black market rubles. (A prime seat at the Bolshoi Ballet was 10 rubles - or about 50-cents at the black market rate.) Even as late as 1989, Kennedy halves left for the front desk and restaurant staff at an East German government hotel, resulted in being moved to a deluxe room, and a wide selection of fresh food and fruit not seen by most locals since the Berlin Wall went up.

 

(When the wife got stopped for speeding near Magdeburg in East Germany, she had some Kennedy halves in the rental car's coin tray. Noticing the weiße Mäuse ("white mouse" slang for the local Police) was eying the coins, she asked if the officer had children. He did - 2 children. So she offered him four Kennedy halves as souvenirs for the children. He accepted them for the children and asked where she was going – normal question in East Germany – she told the officer and he said to follow him. He popped on his flashing lights and they went screaming down the Autoban and into the city right to her destination. He told her to park at the front entrance, and he put an “official business” tag on her windshield so she wouldn’t get a parking ticket….then he drive off with a wave out the patrol car window. Strange times….)

 

[BillJones]

It is interesting that Kennedy was so admired in the Communist countries. One would have thought that after the Cuban Missile Crisis and the his "I am a Berliner" speech in front the Berlin War that he would have viewed negatively as a "cold warrior." The liberal professors certainly viewed him that way when I was in undergraduate school.

 

Perhaps the Russians and East Germans admired his resolve to hold firm on his political philosophies and values with respect to foreign policy. Unlike some presidents, JFK did grow while he was in office. The failed Bay of Pigs invasion taught him a lot about trusting the advice of military experts and the CIA.

 

Some like to second guess his strategy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They say he brought us too close to war, but I think that he handled things correctly. We could not put up with having those missiles on our doorstep ready to launch with virtually no lead time to react. It was a genuine national security issue, and Kennedy handled it without going to war.

 

One can only wonder what things would have been like had he lived. All presidents who serve two terms have a weaker second term than their first (We can run down the list if you like.), but it's hard to imagine that Kennedy would have been as bad as Johnson was. Johnson wasted our resources in Vietnam for no practical gain, and the motto for his "Great Society Program" should have been "Sit on your butt, take it easy, and light up a Camel ... if you don't feel like working. You're entitled to it!"

 

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.

[RWB]

From long, late conversations many, many years ago, I suspect it was not ideology but simple power and control. Lenin and Trotsky were ideology; Stalin was fear and control. The idealism of the first Soviet decade ended with mass purges and a powerful internal spy network that made the Tsar's Secret Police look like Muppets.

 

Kennedy was a symbol of youth, ideology in practice and pragmatic responsibility, when Soviet and western leaders were old men with old ideas. The President's youthful death froze that point of view throughout the world. The Soviet prisoner & writer “АИС” called Lincoln, FDR and JFK the best of American Presidents for their strength, courage and national integrity.

 

American dollars were also appreciated in communist countries – they could be used to buy real products. The eastern bloc lived on U.S. $100s and Swiss francs. The Kennedy half was special, but I never learned (or asked) the details – I probably should have.

 

[Nutmeg Coin]

I remember availability of part silver coins back in the '60s as a kid and the availability and ready circulation of Kennedys (without 40% silver usually) into the 70s. I have been passing out JFK half dollars picked up at the bank to the surprise of most people. Not a bad coin with the federal and Independence Hall reverses.

[jom]

Great story Bill. I'm also glad you got one of these. I was able to order one and it seems to be on the way according to the Mint. I hope it is as nice as yours....

 

jom

[mumu]

I had not seen those gold JFKs before. Beautiful.

[19Lyds]

Out of your entire post, the only thing I got out of it was that.........you were in the 9th Grade.

 

I, on the other hand, was in the 10th Grade which makes you, Bill Jones, a younger man than myself.

 

I swore I wouldn't become like my grandfather but here I am.............

[WoodenJefferson]

US Mint blog The making of...aforementioned.

 

***lots of pictures***

 

people like pictures

[SteelPenny-migration]

I would buy the Gold commemorative If it was not so expensive!

[BillJones]

I would buy the Gold commemorative If it was not so expensive!

 

Unfortunately we can't do much about that since gold is selling for somewhere around $1,300 an ounce. The mint could issue gold plated coins, but I hope we never go there. The junky stuff they sell on the TV (the "rare" 1929 half eagle layered in 24 karat gold") is bad enough. At least that thing is not an official government issue.

 

Did you know that there is no standard for "gold layered" which how the coating on the "1929 half eagle" is described? The coating could make an onion skin like as thick as a walrus hide. These guys probably were able to take a gram of gold and spread it over 20,000 of their "instantly collectable" creations. You are probably paying about $100,000 an ounce for the gold you are getting in those things.

 

[RWB]

But, Bill....they will become "treasured family heirlooms admired by generations." Heck, I even saw that on the internet so it must be true....

[Nutmeg Coin]

I'm waiting for the gold Eisenhower, frankly I never cared for the Kennedy legacy, enough books about that. But any President killed in office becomes richly commemorated either on coins or currency; Kennedy, FDR (died not killed in office), McKinley, Garfield, Lincoln.

[Conder101]

Did you know that there is no standard for "gold layered" which how the coating on the "1929 half eagle" is described? The coating could make an onion skin like as thick as a walrus hide.

True and the TV people are also good at redefining terms. Like all thos tribute silver dollars layered with 100 mil of pure silver. Now a mil is a thousandth of an inch. 100 mil thick silver plating would be a tenth of an inch! The TV people redefined the mil as being an abbreviation for a MILLIONTH of an inch. A 100 mil plating by that definition is only one ten thousandth of an inch thick. Or half the thickness of the copper plating on a US cent.