PCGS The Standard for the Rare Coin Industry

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About this set: This complete set includes one of everything, although some interesting major varieties are excluded. It also rightly includes the 1964 Specimen Kennedy halves, which are not true Special Mint Set coins but are Specimen coins and among the rarest coins made in the 20th century. The bold strike is characteristic of proof coins, but they were struck from business strike dies that show heavy, crisscrossing die polishing lines. Only a single die pair was used for the 8-15 pieces known. John Dannreuther has written of these, "Although the exact source of the Special Mint Set strikings of 1964 coinage is uncertain (most believe they came from the estate of dealer Lester Merkin), they have been trading in the numismatic marketplace since their surfacing in auctions beginning in 1993. Their inclusion as separate varieties is analogous to the separate listing of Satin finish examples in Mint Sets, which were first issued in 2005. Both are striking variations that represent a variation from the normal strikes (hence, PCGS listing them as separate varieties)." A "complete" set will never be complete without an example of the 1964 Specimen Kennedy half, the true key to the set.