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Are you a numismatic of a particular sort in search of distinguished american proof sets? Click HERE for access to a catalog of high quality proof sets for every year dating back to 1952! We have these and thousand of coins to browse and choose from. Look here

successive coin struck from one of these dies would exhibit somewhat less cameo contrast than the coin before. Eventually, the intense pressure of die on planchet would wear the devices to the same smooth, brilliant appearance as the surrounding fields of the coin. These subsequent coins, brilliant proofs, have no discernible contrast between the devices and fields. They are also far more common than the earlier cameo strikes. In recognition of the collector demand for these cameos, the mint began experimenting with sandblasting techniques in the early-mid 1970''s which helped create a much more intense cameo effect. They also began chromeplating the dies to give them added durability. As a result of these new techniques, proof dies today can strike many hundreds of exceptional "black & white" cameos before they begin to wear. What is somewhat astonishing, however, is that if one is patient, and fortunate, one can occasionally find cameos minted from the earlier 1950 to 1970 era that possess the intense cameo contrast, quality, and eye-appeal of these later proofs! These very early strikes, depending on the year, are obviously quite rare. When one also considers the inferior nature of the proof

the nation. Subsequent population reports emanating from PCGS will reveal how very scarce the majority of proof issues are in cameo. With the release of the cameo proof book, and with PCGS'' and NGC''s leap into this market, cameo dealers and collectors will now have accurate, hard data with the release of these services'' grading reports to back up what we long-time cameo dealers and collectors have known for years - that exceptional cameo examples of many dates are extremely rare, and are truly among the best values in U.S. numismatics today. Most collectors and dealers are very familiar with BU Franklins. The majority of uncirculated BU Franklin half dollars on the market are extremely baggy, and/or possess very heavy, unattractive brown or gray toning. These are ugly coins. The Franklin design is a work of art in its simplicity. The bust of Franklin on the obverse, mintcoinset and the famous Liberty bell on the reverse, are beautiful when their surfaces are clear and unblemished! In addition, many Franklins were issued by the mint in cardboard mint sets. The sulfur from these paper products often created some of the most beautifully toned coins in all of U.S. coinage! While rare, gem Franklin halves

of BU Franklins I acquired, 100 rolls of 1963-D''s, a total of 2,000 coins, resulted in financial disaster for me and my partner. Oh, the bag quantity was original all right. All the rolls were in their original bank-wrappings, and had obviously never been unwrapped. The coins in these rolls were beautiful, bright blazers. We submitted mintcoinset the 125+ nicest coins to PCGS and NGC for grading, figuring if we got 40 or 50 MS 65''s we''d make a profit. The result? 5 MS 65''s!! The rest graded either MS 64 or MS 63. Why? The majority had a couple too many bag marks (a common problem with BU Franklins), or had a bit too much pitting on the high-points of the devices (another common problem with BU Franklins), or were too softly struck to grade MS 65 (another common problem with BU Franklins, or finally, had some very light hairline scratches, the result of having passed through a coin counter! By comparison, a single roll of late date Walking Liberty half dollars would likely have more gems among the 20 coins than the 1963-D Franklins did among the 2,000. Despite having populations a fraction of the Walking Liberty halves in gem condition, gem Franklins are currently mintcoinset priced well below the levels Walkers are currently selling at. Additionally, if one wishes to compare the populations of untoned, brilliant MS 65 Walkers to untoned, brilliant MS 65 Franklins, the population differences are even more striking in favor of the Franklins!

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