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think of! Let''s take a brief look at these five areas, and how cameo''s clean coin rate in relation to other u.s. coinage. there are few coins in numismatics as attractive as a cameo proof. while some may disagree with this statement, there is no disputing the opinions of literally thousands of collectors and dealers already familiar with this coinage. proof coins themselves are minted specifically for collectors. as such, they have always represented the state-of-the-art in minting techniques. the mint has always gone to considerable trouble coin to produce these coins. proof dies are highly polished and buffed until the surfaces possess a mirror-like perfection. planchets go through extra steps in their preparation, until they too possess a brighter, satiny appearance. traditionally, proof planchets have been hand-fed into the die, and have always been double struck, under higher pressures than business strikes, to bring out every possible detail. once struck, the coins are handled individually so as not to abrade with other coins, as business strikes normally would. cameo proofs were the very earliest strikes off new proof dies. during certain periods in the history of the mint, part of the die preparation process packaging used for these earlier coins, it almost seems a miracle that any high quality cameos from the 1950 to 1970 era exist at all! the finest cameos, being early strikes off proof dies, are quite simply "the best of the best", for they are not only struck from proof dies, the finest possible dies, but are struck from those dies when they are in their most pristine, unworn state! there could not be a more striking difference between one of these first cameo strikes, and between a coin struck much later off the die - a brilliant proof. if one did not know better, one would think that the two coins were struck from two completely different dies! in a sense, they were. more cost of clean air scrubbers correctly, they were both struck from the same die, but one coin was struck before that die had coin experienced the wearing effect of 100''s of tons of pressure of metal on metal, and one coin was struck after that die had experienced those wearing effects. the opportunity of owning scarce, attractive coins that also are the ultimate in quality for their era has clean a very special appeal to collectors. it also gives these coins tremendous "upside" potential, as it very hard to pay too much for coins that offer the collector the 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 coin 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, 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
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