The following is a Press Release from Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) announcing special designations and labels for the upcoming Enhanced Finished Half Dollar in the Basketball Hall of Fame commemorative series of coins.
On June 4, along with the other highly anticipated coins in the 2020 Basketball Hall Fame Commemorative Coin program, the US Mint will release a 2020-S Basketball Hall of Fame Enhanced Finish Half Dollar as part of a special Kids Set. This is the first commemorative coin that the US Mint has ever produced with an Enhanced Finish.
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®) is offering a new special designation — Tip Off Releases — as well as its popular Early Releases and First Releases designations for eligible coins. The distinctive NGC Basketball Celebration Special Label is also available for all submitters.
The Enhanced Finish boasts super-shiny details created by using a laser polish on select design elements. Compared to a standard Uncirculated coin, the Enhanced Finish has a brighter sheen while preserving the intricate depictions of three players on the coin’s obverse and a basketball passing through the net on the coin’s reverse. NGC will designate these coins as SP (for Specimen) Enhanced Finish.
Like the other coins in the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin program, the Enhanced Finish half dollar will be curved like the shape of a basketball. The basketball coins are only the third dome-shaped coins that the US Mint has produced.
A limited mintage of just 75,000 sets will make the 2020-S Basketball Hall of Fame Enhanced Finish Half Dollar especially desirable to collectors. It is only available with the purchase of the Kids Set, and the Mint has imposed a limit of just five sets per household.
In addition to the coin, the Kids Set includes a colorful booklet with basketball history, trivia and a quiz. Like the coin itself, the booklet celebrates the unifying nature of basketball, a sport loved by people of all backgrounds from all over the world. The set is also accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.
For instructions on how to submit the 2020-S Basketball Hall of Fame Enhanced Finish Half Dollar to NGC for certification, click here.