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1964 sms nickel
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7 posts in this topic

I have a 64 proof set, a 1965 sms set, then I have a 1964 proof nickel graded by igs pr-70.  (I also have a igs graded 64 proof penny and dime).  My father collected all of these.  When I compare the igs graded nickel with the proof set counterpart and the 65 sms its is a different nickel.   It is almost gold.  I have also have a 63 proof and a 57 proof and it’s finish is different than all of them.  How do you identify a 64 sms nickel?

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9 hours ago, Jte said:

 How do you identify a 64 sms nickel?

Look for lots of vertical die polishing lines, a satiny finish, and almost no contact marks, since these supposedly never came in contact with other coins. The 1964 SMS coins were never released to the public, so, unless your father bought it at auction, odds are that it is a regular mint set coin.

Edited by Just Bob
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15 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Look for lots of vertical die polishing lines, a satiny finish, and almost no contact marks, since these supposedly never came in contact with other coins. The 1964 SMS coins were never released to the public, so, unless your father bought it at auction, odds are that it is a regular mint set coin.

Bob is correct about all of the above.  The 1964 SMS coins were prototypes for full scale production of SMS coins in 1965.  All known examples came from the estate of Eva Adams, who was the Director of the US Mint during that era.  These have been recognized as something different and scarce since their existence was discovered.  So, yes, unless your father bought the coin as an SMS coin at an auction held by a reputable firm, you have a regular old 1964 nickel.  There were so many 1964 dated coins struck across all denominations that there are many different looks to the 1964 business strikes based on which die struck them and the die state. 

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  • Member: Seasoned Veteran

The story of the 1964 coins being prototypes for the 1965-67 Special Mint Sets has no evidence to support it. Instead, these coins resemble the coins sent annually from the Philadelphia Mint to the Smithsonian Institution for the National Numismatic Collection. This practice began in the late 1950s, when Vladimir Clain-Steffanelli became the NNC's curator and continued into the 1970s or early 80s. They are simply early currency strikes from fresh dies and not any kind of proof. They do have a somewhat unique appearance, which is why they are labeled by grading services as either SMS (PCGS) or SP (NGC). The NNC still has these coins, though they are not on display.

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4 hours ago, DWLange said:

The story of the 1964 coins being prototypes for the 1965-67 Special Mint Sets has no evidence to support it. Instead, these coins resemble the coins sent annually from the Philadelphia Mint to the Smithsonian Institution for the National Numismatic Collection. This practice began in the late 1950s, when Vladimir Clain-Steffanelli became the NNC's curator and continued into the 1970s or early 80s. They are simply early currency strikes from fresh dies and not any kind of proof. They do have a somewhat unique appearance, which is why they are labeled by grading services as either SMS (PCGS) or SP (NGC). The NNC still has these coins, though they are not on display.

Now that's interesting!  You learn something every day here.  Admittedly, the story I repeated above came from an article in Coins magazine from several years ago.....it would have had to have been one from before 2010 as that was the last year I collected US coins aside from pieces here and there in thematic projects.  Thanks for sharing that!

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7 hours ago, DWLange said:

The story of the 1964 coins being prototypes for the 1965-67 Special Mint Sets has no evidence to support it. Instead, these coins resemble the coins sent annually from the Philadelphia Mint to the Smithsonian Institution for the National Numismatic Collection. This practice began in the late 1950s, when Vladimir Clain-Steffanelli became the NNC's curator and continued into the 1970s or early 80s. They are simply early currency strikes from fresh dies and not any kind of proof. They do have a somewhat unique appearance, which is why they are labeled by grading services as either SMS (PCGS) or SP (NGC). The NNC still has these coins, though they are not on display.

Is the "Eva Adams Estate" story true? I know it (and the prototype story) have been repeated on many chat boards for many years.

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  • Member: Seasoned Veteran

These coins came onto the market around 1994, and I wrote an article about them for Coin World shortly afterward when NGC certified the first examples received. I can't confirm that they came from the Eva Adams estate, but the timing is about right. She died three years earlier and would have had access to these coins during her tenure as Mint Director (1961-69).

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