For a limited time we are offering the CollecTons Keeper Key Date set of Keepers 1, 6 & 9 plus a 2012 Red Book for just $54.99. This set normally sells for $73.97 and you get a 2021 Whitman Red Book of United States Coins with it for free!
The 3 CollecTons Keepers included in this special set are:
The 1970-D Kennedy Silver Half Dollar is a rarity in and of itself as it was never released for circulation, and stands out in numismatic history due to its impact on both collectors and the coin market as a whole. It is known as a key date coin and one every serious collector should obtain.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced plans to eliminate silver from the dime and quarter in favor of a clad (copper-nickel) composition. Additionally, the silver content of the half dollar was reduced from 90% to 40%. In 1969, the Treasury sought authorization to eliminate the half dollar's silver content, changing it to the same composition as the dime and quarter. The legislation dragged on for over a year before President Richard Nixon signed a bill on December 31, 1970 to eliminate silver from the half dollar. As a result of the delay, the mint never released 1970 half dollars for circulation. The 1970 half dollars produced in Denver were released solely in mint sets. The Mint never announced that 1970 half dollars would not be struck for circulation until after mint set ordering had closed, leaving many collectors angry and disappointed, and limiting the total number of half dollars coined.With a mintage of just over 2 million the 1970-D Kennedy is considered the "key" to the series.
Today, the 1970-D is still a highly sought after modern rarity due to the low mintage and high demand, causing this key date to be worth significantly more than its value in silver.
The American Revolutionary Bicentennial Commission ( ARBC ) was established in 1966 to organize the U.S. Mint's celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the United States' independence. The ARBC committee recommended that the mint redesign all of the circulating U.S. Coins in honor of the Bicentennial. Mary Brooks, the U.S. Mint director at the time, strongly opposed this redesign. The committee and Brooks worked to reach a compromise, the quarter, half dollar and dollar coins would have a special Bicentennial reverse and bare the dates 1776-1976. All coins of the three denominations were to be minted for delivery after the 4th of July, 1975 and prior to the end of the Bicentennial year. Fearing that a low mintage of the coins bearing the date 1975 would create a hoarding situation, the Mint obtained legislation allowing them to continue to mint the three denominations with the date 1974 until it began producing the Bicentennial pieces.
The redesign of the reverse was determined via a public contest. There were nearly 1000 designs submitted for consideration. A design from Dennis R. Williams, a 22 year old student at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio, was chosen for the Eisenhower Dollar. Dennis said that he had been given the project as an assignment from one of his instructors. At the time, Williams was the youngest person in U.S. History to have had a design featured on a U.S. coin. The design depicted the Liberty Bell super imposed over the moon, which worked well with the previous reverse design of the Eisenhower Dollar featuring the Apollo 11 insignia of an eagle landing on the moon. The design was well received by the public but was criticized by many in the numismatic community because the Liberty Bell had already been featured on the Franklin Half Dollar.
The minting of the Proof Silver Clad Bicentennial Dollars began at the San Francisco Mint on April 23, 1975. These were minted for distribution to the public in a set, each containing a Proof Silver Clad dollar, half dollar and quarter. The only way to get a Proof Silver Clad Bicentennial Dollar at the time was by purchasing one of these sets at a premium from the U.S. Mint.
Today, the 1976-S Eisenhower Bicentennial Proof Silver Dollar is still a highly sought after modern rarity due its historical significance and high demands. It is an essential piece to any Eisenhower Dollar set.
The 1950-D Jefferson Nickel has the lowest mintage figure of any nickel in the Jefferson series. At 2,630,030, that equates to 1 nickel per 120 people in the United States. Compare that to the 20,460,000 1951-D nickels minted.
Collectors quickly realized that the coin was going to be in high demand and began hoarding them. Collectors rushed to their local banks attempting to get their hands on this rare coin. Midwest banks had the largest supplies of undistributed coins and a few entrepreneurial individuals managed to acquire large quantities. These business men drove across the country during the summer of 1951 selling $2 face rolls for $5 - $7 each! One numismatist from Houston, Texas, A. J Mitula, is said to have procured over 1 million coins (over 1/3 of the entire mintage). He made so much money selling the coins that he bought a summer home on the slopes of Pike's Peak in Cascade, Colorado. He named the property 'The house that the 1950-D Nickels built'.
Hoarding of the 1950-D nickel continued across the country, creating a frenzy of demand, a shortage of supply and sky rocketing prices. The price peaked in 1964 at $25 for a single coin. For perspective, $25 in 1964 is the equivalent of $100 today. Following the 1964 peak the market began to recede as dealers realized that the fad was slowing and the number of collectors began to fall ( in 1965 the U.S. mint stopped putting the mint mark on Jefferson Nickels, causing collectors to dwindle ). By 1969 the price had dropped to $12.50 a coin and by the mid 1980's the price was hovering around $6. Quite the ride for the 1950-D Nickel! It is often speculated that the coin was the most highly hoarded in the U.S. Mint's history.
The low mintage and unprecedented hoarding has lead to the 1950-D being the Key Date coin of the series. Today, the 1950-D Jefferson Nickel is still a highly sought after modern rarity due its low mintage and high demands. It is an essential piece to any Jefferson Nickel set.
What makes the Collectons Keepers program special?
Here at CollecTons, we work hard researching coins that should be part of every collection. Our goal is to utilize our knowledge in the numismatic industry to select coins worthy of being in everyone's collection! Therefore, the CollecTons Keepers program will only feature those Coins Worth Keeping.
Each coin is hand selected and given to ANACS (America's Oldest Grading Service ) for grading and authentication. The coins are then sealed in an ANACS certified proprietary slab holder for long-term storage, with our limited edition label marking it a CollecTons Keeper.
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