Proof sets

[coinmonster]

What's the deal with proof sets? Does anyone collect them? Are the coins in them all MS ? What makes some years worth so much more than others? Example why is the 2001 set worth so much more than some of the other sets?

 

What do ya'll think about the uncirculated mint sets?

 

 

Does anyone crack these babies open and if you do WHY?

 

These questions mainly came from coinmonster2 but I was intrested in some of the answers also ans since we don't have any mint sets we went on ebay and won us one set and got outbid on the set we really wanted That set was a 2000 set and had 10 coins with all the state quarters from that year. I think the winning bid was $20.00 or a little higher. That was more than our coin budget allowed right now. We are in fact WAY OVER that budget

[Tiffibunny]

Proof set coins aren't MS, they are PF (proof) only Uncirculated coins can be MS. I don't collect them per se, but I buy them for.. answering another question, busting them open. I bust them open to put in my date set albums.

[coinmonster]

I don't know how many times ya'll have told me about the "proof" not being a MS grade. Maybe if we drilled it into my head?

[Sir Sisu]

What's the deal with proof sets? Does anyone collect them? Are the coins in them all MS ? What makes some years worth so much more than others? Example why is the 2001 set worth so much more than some of the other sets?

...

 

 

I collect proof sets. Finnish and US sets. As to why some are more valuable then others, my immidiate answer would be demand. One might add that mintage figures have an affect, and the 2001 issue (2.2+ million) seems to have a smaller figure than the 2000 and 1999 10-piece sets. However, 2002 has an even smaller figure, yet the Redbook has it valued at less than the 2001. So my guess is that it has something to do with the year (a rememberance of 9/11 perhaps? Not really sure.) I have the other proof sets with the State Quarters myself except for the 2001.

 

In contrast take Finland. This year's proof set will only have a mintage of 3000. (The starting retail price is absurdly high.) Will it go higher? Despite the small mintage number probably not much, as I doubt there is very much demand for Finnish proofs sets.

[gxseries]

You must understand that a PROOF coin is much different from a brilliant uncirculated coin.

 

Proof coins usually have sharp clear features and mirror like reflective surfaces whereas a brilliant uncirculated coins usually would have "rounder" edges.

 

Of course proof coins are slightly more expensive to produce because for the multiple strikes used a single proof coins, more uncirculated coins could have been minted. Also, special polished metal planchets are used too. Therefore, to overcome this slightly more expensive process, the mints decided to "hype" up the emphasis. Of course, it has to be sellable at a reasonable price as well as maximizing profits by producing as little coins as possible with very few dies.

 

It's just a horrible market ploy by the mints worldwide. Or else, would you like to see a Soviet style marketing system, where people couldn't care less for brilliant circulated coins and proof coins? Mints need to make money you know, the government don't really sponsor them any more...

[joanjet]

I collect proof, silver proof, mint sets, and prestige proof sets. I do not break them open, I keep them as is. I do have some proof sets from the 50's and 60's that have never seen the light of day. The original buyers purchased 500-piece boxes of proof sets from the Mint and let them sit for years, then sold them off individually at quite a premium. The oldest one I have right now is a 1954 proof set. I agree that the reason they cost so much is demand, how they are made, and how many are minted, and the age of the proof set.

[jtryka]

I really don't know much about pricing on proof or mint sets, so my guess would be supply and demand as the reason why some are worth more. I don't really collect clad proof sets, except that I have started buying the ones since 1999, mainly so I have the state quarters. The same is true with mint sets, I have maintly the ones since 1999, but I do have an 87 and 96 since those had coins that were not issued for circulation. I do collect silver proof sets though, and have been buying them from the mint every year since the came out in 1992. Nowadays I buy two of each set every year, one to save and one to break open to put in my albums like Tiffybunny does.

 

If you are really interested in proof sets, and you have a tight budget, I would suggest buying one from the 1970s or 1980s since many of those sets can be purchased for between $5 and $7, in fact a few months back I bought a 1969 proof set since it was the year I was born and paid $6 for it, and it even has a 40% silver Kennedy!

[coinmonster]

Thanks for ya'lls insight................I wish they had a 1943 set. That was the year my Mom was born and I think she would get a kick out of it. I gave her a steel penny she liked that. Maybe I might try to put one together for her but I don't think it would be a "proof" set. Then again I havn't checked the prices.

[jtryka]

I don't think they made proof sets in 1943, I think they stopped in 1942. I had the same issue, as my dad was born in 1941, but I found a more economical solution. I know my dad, and proof or even uncirculated coins wouldn't last long for him since he likes to hold things and touch them. So I didn't want to waste money on BU coins knowing they would look AU within weeks of giving them to him. So I put together a set of nice circulated coins, in VF to EF grades and put them all in a plastic 2-piece holder which you can get at about any coin shop for a dollar and gave it to him. He liked it since he could display it in the holder but also open it up and handle each of the coins. I think that whole set with the holder cost less than $10, but he really liked it anyway!

[cladking]

I like the modern (and ultra-modern) mint and proof sets. They are usually the best source for coins and in the case of proof sets are often the only source. Quality is usually quite good and some coins will be superb.

 

In most cases the coins actually have more value after they are removed from the sets because there is a steady demand for the singles from collectors and dealers who are assembling the date and mintmark sets of various denominations. Many of these sets are getting tough to find and rolls can be quite scarce.

 

The mint set coins have been struck on special presses under higher pressure since 1965. Dies are swapped out after relatively few strikes and the coins are struck at lower speeds to give the dies more time to fill. This won't always assure the finest coins and some mint set coins are typically damaged by the handling equipment but in most cases the gems are far more likely to appear in the sets than anywhere else.

 

I save some of the best mint and proof set examples and rarely save the whole set just to save room in the safety deposit box.

[Twentycent]

coinmonster, re-read what qxseries says and you will STOP thinking MS when you are talking proofs. It's easy!! His following sentence should make it sink in.

 

"Also, special polished metal planchets are used too."

 

cladking, would you please elaborate more on how and what is done to the planchets that are to be used for proofs?

 

Jerry

[cladking]

cladking, would you please elaborate more on how and what is done to the planchets that are to be used for proofs?

 

Jerry

 

I was speaking of mint sets primarily rather than proof sets.

 

Proof blanks have usually been at least lightly polished. Various methods have been used but now days I believe they are all polished by being tumbled in a drum with small steel beads.

 

There are varying degrees of polishing.

[BigMo]

Are there any mint or proof sets that should not be broken up?

 

I'm sure this is another reason some years are much higher

than others.Only so many can go under the knife before the

market feels the pinch.

 

...Tony...

[Guest Stujoe]

I think with the grading services and many of us who want to put the coins in our own storage method of choice, that intact newer sets will become scarce over time. It may be a while, though, as there were are so many made these days.

[geordie582]

Sorry! Can't understand pretty coins! I need circulated coins that have history with them. Just think of who could have handled them!

[Burks]

Every day the number of older mint/proof sets still in the original packaging decreases. Eventually to the point where obtaining mint/proof sets in the original packaging will be a challenge.

[BigMo]

I hear ya Geordie. I just got a 81S SBA mint set coin in the

mail and it looks like its been in circulation for a year or two.

 

It's a very fine example of what the mints have been

producing of late. Pityful.

 

My hat's off for you people puttin a circ set togeather.

 

...Tony...

[gxseries]

Indeed I must agree that for some world coins with original packaging is getting extremely difficult, as well as being way too pricy.

 

Because boxes or packagings are made in such ways that it might be too bulky to be shipped, or they contribute to ridicious weight issues etc, such boxes are sold or thrown right away. I know a dealer that just sells discarded coin boxes at 1 dollar each, or give them away if I make enough purchases

 

As such, I don't care much if you are to slab your coins or put it in a coin capsule - but spare the packaging for a moment

 

As for such the other day I saw someone taking away 10 empty Soviet Olympics 80' platinum boxes...

[cladking]

Are there any mint or proof sets that should not be broken up?

 

I'm sure this is another reason some years are much higher

than others.Only so many can go under the knife before the

market feels the pinch.

 

...Tony...

 

 

There are some purists who feel none of these should be broken up because it's "wrong". This is probably some of the reason that the sets are worth more after they are busted in most cases. The collectors want a specific issue but don't know how or don't want to destroy a set. When they buy one from a dealer it creates the demand which destroys the set.

 

There are many mint and proof sets which lose a great deal of value when they are opened up. This applies mostly to later date sets from the '90's and '00's. These sets can have a far higher value than the total value of the coins in them. In the long run all the sets will probably be worth the sum total of the coins in them plus a premium but this won't occur until the demand for the sets is as high as the number of sets. It's very difficult to predict when this will occur for each date but many of the older sets have been decimated by those assembling collections.

[Doogy]

When I was kid in the 70s, I had a dearly beloved retired couple that lived next door to me. They were friends of my grandparents, and gave me proof sets every year for my birthday. I was always fascinated with these shiny coins, and their neat packaging. Personally, I think proof sets are a great value due to what you can pick them up for on Ebay. In fact, I just won these four sets today on ebay, 69-72. At a little over $7 each (what i won them for), they are certainly a fun thing to collect for very little moolah.

 

 

As to the question of cracking the sets open, I haven't done so and probably won't crack any of the sets I own.

 

Doug

[ikaros]

I bite for the silver proofs nowadays, but that's about it.