Accented hair 1964 Kennedy with missing vs non-missing serif

"Long time listener, first time caller"

I have 3 accented hair 1964 Kennedys, none of them graded yet.

What I found out that 1 of the 3 is lacking the serif on the bottom left of the "I" in "Liberty".

All 3 have all the same features: accented hair, flat signature, lines interrupted by the stars.

Is the variety without the serif on the "I" considered different at all?

Thanks!

 

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The 1964 AH are proof coins. Is that what you have? Images?

 

I'm not aware of any Kennedy accented-hair variety that does not lack the serif. In other words, if the serif is present, I don't think it's the accented-hair variety.

As Larry says, all AH coins are proofs, and pics would be helpful.

Welcome to CoinTalk (posting)!

 

Welcome to Coin Talk.
I also believe that the Accented Hair coin must have the missing serif.

 

So, yes, they are all proof coins.

If you go to PCGS' web site, link below, you will see that this one shows all serifs on the I, although there is a blemish on the usually missing one:

1964 50C Accented Hair (Proof) Kennedy Half Dollar - PCGS CoinFacts

I could never figure out coin photography, sorry. Mostly because I am a perfectionist.

This makes me think that the die slowly "filled up" with coin alloy in that area, and that some of the first coins minted had the full serifs.

 

I will only send the missing serif one to grade, anyway.

I rescued it from a full set, which was put in one of these plastic holders. Saw the eBay auction, zoomed in... Yup. "Buy it now".

Are the other coins in the same set valuable at all? Any varieties to look for?

Thanks a lot. You guys seem to know your stuff.

 

The Accented Hair will show when the coin is illuminated from the right side at a low angle.

 

The sets with "Accented Hair" 50c will usually also contain the "Pointed 9" 10c.

 

They do but for the serif, which is not completely missing.

From what I could see, looking at different sites, including PCGS and NGC, that serif varies from completely missing to being 90% present, as if this issue got worse the more coins were minted.

For these specific early releases, they tend to use the same single press, don't they?

 

I'm not 100% sure that's what's going on here. My impression was that the missing serif was an issue with the original hub (but I could be wrong).

In photos, the appearance of that serif depends a lot on the lighting direction. For the same coin, a change in lighting angle can make it blazingly obvious, or very hard to spot. I've assumed that when I see a coin that's confirmed AH, but appears to have the serif, it's just a lighting thing. Again, though, I could be wrong; I haven't examined that many of them in-hand, and I have only one or two myself.