A key coin within the four-piece 2014 50th Anniversary Kennedy Half-Dollar Silver Coin Collection is the 2014-S Enhanced Uncirculated Kennedy Half-Dollar.
We watched these unique collectibles getting made during our recent visit to the San Francisco Mint. (See photos of them.) An upcoming story will discuss how they’re produced, and we’ll make sure to publish it before the set’s release on Tuesday, Oct. 28. As a primer for the article, we wanted to first offer illustrations of the special treatments dies receive to create the coin. For that, take a look at this color-coded graphic showing the areas of treatment:
Fields, shown in yellow, receive a special wire brushing technique. The other colors represent varying intensities of laser applications:
- Purple indicates areas of heavy laser frosting,
- Blue shows regions of standard or moderate laser frosting, and
- White represents the use of laser polishing
The distinctive treatments look spectacular when using a loupe to view the coins. To the naked eye, however, the presentation is more subtle. Keep that in mind. These half-dollars don’t have an advantage of size like last year’s 2013-W Enhanced Uncirculated Silver Eagle which so effectively highlighted its multiple laser frostings.
Having also seen reverse proof Kennedys made at West Point, my thinking is that most collectors will rank them above the other three coins from the 2014 50th Anniversary Kennedy Half-Dollar Silver Coin Collection. Their mirrored design devices against frosted backgrounds jump out handsomely — there’s nothing subtle about the overall effect. The enhanced uncirculated half-dollar described in this article will probably come in second, followed by the standard proof from Philadelphia and then the standard uncirculated half-dollar from Denver.
