Proof sets

The coins for this year were manufactured as much as 6 or 8 months ago. The employees don't come in at midnight New Years Eve and start making stuff to sell in January. The same applies to the scams regarding First Strike, First Release, and all the other gimmicks used to drag cash out of uninformed collectors.

 

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I just looked at the product mintage limit for the 2026 clad proof set. At 420,000, I'm not so sure it will sell out. I know many coin collectors, and the consensus I see is that they are not buying it, period. My mint set collection ended last year, so.

 

Amen

 

If he wants one minus the two pennies I'll give him a heck of a deal. I have one P+D purchased 190,000 Mintage!

 

I gave up on the base metal Proof sets more than 10 years ago. I have collected only the silver sets after the State Quarter ended in 2009. With silver sets, at least you have some precious metal. With the recent run ups in silver, it’s currently a decent “investment.”

As for the mint’s pricing policies, I am very disappointed with them. It makes it very hard for young collectors to get involved with their projects. If the mint really is charging more than $100 for the 2026 mint set, that is ridiculous. It’s only fancy pocket change.

 

I have subscriptions for both proof sets and buying 2 of the mint sets. I have never expected to make money, just like I never expected to profit from the comics I bought back in the sixties and seventies. Costs of those today have also gone up well beyond what they are really "worth" because, well, people will pay because they want them. I don't like that the cost is so high, just like I don't like the fact that beef costs triple today than it did a year ago, but I still got to have my bacon-cheddar burgers!

And when did we EVER have "control" of the money the government makes/spends? How much did we pay into social security, just to have it used for some other purpose?

 

My point exactly.

 

Totally agree, KH.

As I have posted here many times, unless one lives and breathes coins 24/7 and makes it a career and not a hobby...you are unlikely to make competitive investment returns from buying or selling coins. Even rising PM prices are unlikely to help you out unless you get lucky.

Clearly, those who accumulated large numbers of high-quality coins in the 15 years before gold/silver were allowed to trade freely in the early-1970's did very well. But that was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

Even today's trophy coins usually only generate mid-single digit returns for the owners unless they purchased the coin decades ago, like the Bass Family with their PR64-DCAM 1850 Liberty Head DE which returned 12% a year for 50 years.

 

Just between you and me...I take public gripes with a grain of salt sometimes since collectors needs a place to vent frustration and these forums are the place to do it God bless 'em. My quality observatory telescopes and model train prices are through the roof compared to the past. Starbucks is still in business (but stock hurting a bit) and the bottled water market just keeps flowing. Beef and coffee prices are partially due to drought and weather systems but people keep buying. IMHO the REAL contemporary thievery in numismatics are the already mentioned 3rd party slabbed First strike, First release, Signature slab labels, collecting by slab (Slabology?), grade inflation. Yup...if people want it enough they will pay for it. Sometimes I feel bad for the newby or young coin collector venturing into coin collecting these days.