Four superb-quality Franklin and Kennedy silver half dollars featured on the front cover of a new reference book will be offered in a live television auction by Rare Collectibles TV (www.RareCollectiblesTV.com) on September 21, 2023.
The illustrated, 248-page A Guide Book of Franklin and Kennedy Half Dollars Fourth Edition by long-time professional numismatist and award-winning author Rick Tomaska, and with a foreword by the esteemed Q. David Bowers, is now available. Tomaska is a co-founder of Rare Collectibles TV.
Produced by Whitman Publishing, it contains updated pricing information for premium quality and Rick Tomaska Signature Series coins as well as new research, including a chapter about one of the rarest United States coins of the 20th century, the 1964-P Specimen Kennedy half-dollar.
The specimen 1964 Kennedy half, graded NGC SP67+, depicted on the book’s cover was recently sold by Rare Collectibles TV to a collector for more than $100,000.
"We are delighted to now offer the four other book cover coins as well as about two dozen additional, outstanding rarities in a live television public auction," he declared. "It will be conducted on Thursday, September 21, at 5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern, on DIRECTV 222, Dish channels 85 and 224, Shop Zeal 1, YouTube, and at RareCollectiblesTV.com. RCTV is the only place where you can buy my exclusive Tomaska Signed Label Franklin and Kennedy rare and stunning coins."
The reference book’s cover coins in the auction are:
- 1957-D Franklin half dollar NGC MS67 Star Full Bell Lines. "On both obverse and reverse, this is simply the most beautiful high-grade 1957-D I have ever seen," said Tomaska. "This coin is from a mint set, and most mint set-toned 1957-D’s have lackluster dull toning. This specimen exhibits the most beautiful toning for a 1957-D. Both the obverse and reverse are equally stunning! On a scale of 1 to 10, this is as close to a perfect 10 as any 1957-D known! And it is MS67 FBL. There are no MS68s!"
This beautifully toned 1957-D Franklin half dollar, graded NGC MS67 Star Full Bell Lines, will be in the September 21, 2023 auction conducted by Rare Collectibles TV. (Photo credit: Rare Collectibles TV.)
- 1960 Franklin half dollar NGC PF69 Ultra Cameo. "This 1960 has one of the biggest cameos ever seen on a proof Franklin half dollar. I believe it has to be one of the earliest strikes, perhaps the first 10 to 20 coins, to have the cameo contrast you see on this coin. And it’s a PF69. Most of the known early strike examples have a few hairlines or milk-spots. This specimen is perfect," stated Tomaska.
Exhibiting one of the biggest cameo effects ever seen on a proof Franklin half dollar, this 1960 Philadelphia coin, graded NGC PF69 Ultra Cameo, is on the front cover of a new reference book and will be in the September 21, 2023 auction conducted by Rare Collectibles TV. (Photo credit: Rare Collectibles TV.)
- 1967 Special Mint Set Kennedy half dollar, T-70 NGC MS68 Ultra Cameo. "This is the finest known specimen," explained Tomaska. "Only the earliest examples in the Special Mint Sets (SMS) produced from 1965 to 1967 displayed the level of cameo contrast you see on this coin. SMS coins were not individually handled as were proof coins, but were just dumped into bins. So, for this earliest strike to survive in essentially flawless MS68 is miraculous!"
Pictured on the front cover of the new reference book, A Guide Book of Franklin and Kennedy Half Dollars Fourth Edition, this 1967 Special Mint Set Kennedy half dollar, graded NGC MS68, will be offered by Rare Collectibles TV in a live television auction on September 21, 2023. (Photo credit: Rare Collectibles TV.)
- 1970-D Kennedy half dollar, NGC MS67. "The 1970-D is the lowest mintage silver mint state Kennedy made in the last year Kennedy half dollars with any silver content were struck for circulation. In over 30 years of going through literally tens of thousands of original sets, I have never found a specimen as flawless as this amazing coin. There are no MS68 examples," said Tomaska.
Another superb quality coin in the Rare Collectible TV live television auction on September 21, 2023 is this 1970 Denver Mint Kennedy half dollar graded NGC MS67. (Photo credit: Rare Collectibles TV.)
A Guide Book of Franklin and Kennedy Half Dollars Fourth Edition is available from Rare Collectibles TV for $29.
For additional information about the auction, visit www.RareCollectiblesTV.com. For additional information about the book and to purchase a copy, visit https://www.rarecollectiblestv.com/rick-tomaska-s-guide-book-of-franklin-kennedy-half-dollars-4th-edition-soft-cover.html.
I wonder who Ricky boy pays to sign these ‘special’ coin labels? None of his ‘authentic hand signed(?) autographs’ look identical to me. But I’m sure plenty of brain-dead people will pay for these gems. We certainly have plenty of them in this country.
I have collected coins off and on over some decades and one thing that I always wondered about I would like to get opinions from you collectors on, Why is it that cleaning coins is something that you cannot do. If you even think of doing it you should be put away seems to be the response. That “toning” is part of the coins history. I know gun collectors that will get an old gun stock refinished or the metal all re-blued. Do old car collectors never wash their cars – that mud is part of that cars history. “Oh… Read more »
Zoota, addressing your question of why cleaning coins is something you should not do, you may find the PCGS article “Come Clean About Cleaning Your Coins” by Nichole Schembre – September 14, 2017 of some value and interest.
These coins don’t look ultra cameo to me. Maybe I should send my coins to NGC to be graded, to get a higher grading than what I’ve gotten from PCGS.