1966 1c- 50c Special Mint Set, 5 Coins SP

Original Packaging: For the first time, the U.S. Mint packaged its collector coins in a rigid plastic holder. A two­-­piece casing of transparent plastic was fitted around the coins and sonically sealed. Each coin was held in place by a close­-­fitting hole having a raised rim. Arranged in a single row, these openings were framed by a flexible insert backing of blue plastic. In raised lettering on the front of the casing appeared UNITED STATES SPECIAL MINT SET and, in smaller letters, packaged by u.s. mint. The casing was inserted into a close­-­fitting cardboard box, which was blue with the words UNITED STATES SPECIAL MINT SET printed on its front in silver.

Commentary: Perhaps it was the complaints over the higher price of Special Mint Sets that prompted the Mint to give collectors a little more value for their money. The hard plastic case for this year’s sets was similar to those marketed by the commercial sector for Proof and Uncirculated sets, and it was a decided improvement over the pliofilm packaging of earlier years.

The U.S. Mint spent the first seven months of 1966 coining pieces dated 1964 and 1965. This was done to maintain date continuity and to produce enough of these coins to prevent any rarities. It was not until August 1 that production of 1966­-­dated coins began, and all the Special Mint Set pieces were coined at the San Francisco Assay Office.

Though a few of this year’s SMS coins have somewhat satiny surfaces, the majority is almost fully prooflike in brilliance. The difference between these coins and true Proofs is that these pieces were struck just once, on unpolished planchets. They display fairly strong strikes, yet the lack of a second impression caused some of the flaws inherent in the planchets to remain visible. A second strike would have smoothed out these flaws. The coins were also permitted to come into contact with others, resulting in minor contact marks and abrasions. This accounts for their rarity in high grades.

Many of the 1966 SMS coins are missing details, the most obvious example being the missing designer initials FG (for Frank Gasparro) on the reverse of some half dollars. This was caused by overpolishing of the dies in an attempt to achieve the full brilliance described above.

Another popular variety is the doubled­-­die obverse half dollar. Bold doubling is seen on Kennedy’s profile and to a lesser degree in the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. A similar doubled­-­die obverse is known for the circulating edition of the 1966 half dollar, too. Like the 1965 SMS coins, the 1966 issues exist with cameo and ultra cameo frosting, but these are very scarce. Being the only coin still containing the softer metal silver, the half dollar was less destructive to the dies, and these dies retained their frosted cavities longer. The halves are thus more likely to show contrasting fields and devices, and this remained true through 1970.

Source: Whitman Publishing