lcarothers Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 Hello everyone. I am quite a newby to all of this but I am hooked! I have a basic question. How are proof coins and mint coins different in the way they are made? Also, how do they compare in value? Sorry if this shows my ignorance ... I am! lcarothers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostDutchman Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 Proof coins are struck with special dies and are usually struck more then once to really give them a mirror look. mint coins are just regular coins put in sets and they are uncirculated. proof sets from the 60's and 70's aren't worth much while others are.....mint sets usually hold a little more value because people want proofs therefore the mint makes more of them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stujoe Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 Now (as of 2005), the mint sets are also specially made with a different finish from the regular business strikes but it is a 'flat' type finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxseries Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 I don't know if this explaination would be the fastest, but one quick way of illustrating the difference between a proof and unc would be an aluminum foil. You can see the bright "polished" surface against the dull grey on the opposite side. There isn't really a trick to it, it's just a matter of polishing and finishing. Now going back to the explaination of such differences in coins, proof coins usually have their surfaces polished and struck a few times to give the best mirror finish, like what LostDutchman said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trantor_3 Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 pictures say more than 1000 words... image of a business strike coin: image of a proof coin: images taken by Tiffibunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 The proof planchets (blanks) are polished as are the dies. The devices (the parts of the coin that will end up being raised) are blasted by beads to give the 'cameo' or frosted appearance. The coin itself is struck two to four times to ensure complete metal flow into all parts of the die. The dies are inspected (and replaced) more often than with mint strikes. The old mint sets were just business strikes (coins for circulation) which were pulled from the normal assembly line and placed in Mylar envelopes. With the 2005 Mint sets, these dies were also bead blasted across the entire die to give the coin the 'satin' finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cladking Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Proof dies are specially prepared and will usually include all the details of the master dies. They are often basined which means their fields are polised to a plane or a near plane. Modern dies are also frosted on the devices using various techniques. The dies are then chrome plated to help retain the frost. Planchets for proof coins are often polished or other steps will be taken to as- sure that planchets defects won't be seen in the finished product (eg- burnishing). Coins are then struck at least twice to fully bring up the detail of the die. Uncirculated coins are simply run off at high speed on quad presses. Planchets recieve no special handling and the coins are dumped into bags and shipped to counting houses. Since 1965 mint set coins have recieved a great deal of special handling. They are struck under increased pressure on the old vertical single presses using new dies. Sometimes these dies will recieve a little extra preparation and can strike proof like coins. Struck coins are washed and dried and moved with some care to the mint set filling machinery which is mostly automated now. Planchets rarely recieve extra effort also. While some are apparently proof planchets in recent years many of these are burnished. Even more special die prep and chroming are used on the 2005 mint sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostDutchman Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 on a side note, I once owned a 1965 cent struck on a silver proof dime planchet.....proof errors are very very rare... just a tid bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burks Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 on a side note, I once owned a 1965 cent struck on a silver proof dime planchet.....proof errors are very very rare... just a tid bit Now that would be quite a site to see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monster110 Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Proofs are usally smoother and Bolder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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