Kennedy set trading starts at triple price

Will the 2014 four coin silver Kennedy half dollar set outshine the gold Kennedy half and prove that all that glitters isn’t gold?

Even before the U.S. Mint’s release of the set priced at $99.95, a pre-sale Kennedy silver set that was ANACS graded -70 was offered on eBay. As of Oct. 29, the set was up to $335 with six bids and two days left to go in the auction, hinting at future secondary market prices.

Dave Hendrickson, owner of SilverTowne, Winchester, Ind., said the secondary market on the set will be great.

“This is a very hot set,” he said. “The sets will be widely sold and collected.“This is a lot like the silver American Eagle anniversary sets that came before.”

The Mint’s limit of 300,000 sets would also help sales of the set, he said.

“As soon as we get them, they’ll be off to get graded,” Hendrickson said. “A lot will be Early Release or First Strike designated.”

Matt Crane of L&C Coins, Los Alamitos, Calif., said that many collectors will be after high grade, certified coins from the set.

“I think it depends on what they collect,” he said. “If they bought the other Kennedy coins certified, they’ll probably buy PCGS or NGC examples.”

L&C Coins will sell PCGS graded coins from the set in MS, PR, and SP-69 and -70 grades, depending on the coin’s finish, he said.

“The Mint does a good job branding it and PCGS does a great job with their labels,” Crane said. “This is one set people are excited to get their hands on.”

Chris Clifton, owner of CoinAdvisor.com, Glendale, Ariz., said that his business was focusing on selling graded sets over ungraded examples.

“I’m not doing much for the sets still in the original government packaging since they can be purchased from the Mint right now,” he said. “I’ll keep some on hand in case a collector asks for a set, but many will be graded.”

Collectors are going to go after the highest grade for every coin in the set, he said.

“With having four different strikes and coming from four different mints, collectors will want this set,” he said. “Especially in a -70 grade, it’s a no brainer.”

However, not all coins in the set may easily achieve the -70 grade, Clifton said.

“If a collector were to send in a set for a -70 collection, I don’t think they would have a high rate of success,” he said. “It’s a new product and these are first time strikes. Sometimes, they come out well and other times not so much.

“That’s where the dealers have the advantage of being able to purchase many sets and putting together a complete graded -70 set. That way a collector won’t have to purchase four, five, six or even 10 sets to make a -70 set.”

Hendrickson said that SilverTowne was not just offering graded sets, but also had plans for a special collection.

“We’re looking to put together and sell a 13-coin set of all of the 2014 Kennedy half dollars,” he said. “I think many will sell graded.”

That’s a collection of the business strikes, the uncirculated coins, the clad proof, the silver proof, the clad set, the gold proof, and the four coin Kennedy silver set, he said.

“This is a set for the collector,” Hendrickson said.

Clifton said that Coin Advisor would offer a special set as well.

“As far as a set, we’re going to offer the 2014 four-coin silver Kennedy set with a 1964 accented hair Kennedy half dollar in a high grade,” he said.

Prices for that set would depend on the grading totals, he said.

“With the 2014 clad Kennedy set, some have gone down and others have gone up,” he said. “The SP-69 coins have come up a bit, while the SP-67 and -68 coins have dropped.”

SP-69 graded were much rarer, so the same could occur with graded silver Kennedy sets and their prices, he said.

“I know that there is one company that has released prices already, but I think they are a bit on the high end,” Clifton said.

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