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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 currency holder - 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 correctly, they were both struck from the same die, but one coin was struck before that die had 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 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 think of! let''s take a brief look at these five areas, and how cameo''s 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 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 nambe candle holder 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 foreign currency spot market off new proof dies. during certain periods in the history of the mint, part of the die preparation process involved "acid-dipping" the dies before they were polished. the solution used during the 1950 to 1970 period, a bath consisting of 5% nitric holder acid/95% water, was used to create an acid-etched appearance on the die. when the die was subsequently polished and buffed, the recessed portions of the die, the devices, retained their acid-etched cameo. the very first strikes off one of these new dies would possess a gorgeous, intense cameo effect very similar in quality to the proofs minted currency today. the raised holder portions of these early currency strikes, the devices (on the franklin half, these would be the bust of franklin, the lettering, and date on the obverse, and the liberty bell, eagle, and lettering on the reverse) would display a snow-white cameo effect that would stand in stark contrast to the deep-mirrored fields surrounding them. the flawless, jewel-like quality of the best of these cameos almost look like works of art rather than mere coins! indeed, to most collectors, these coins holder are works of art! the frosted devices of these early cameo dies were quite delicate - one could easily scratch a bit of frost from the die with one''s fingernail, and were the first part of the die to wear. each
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