I have been buying coin proof sets of ebay - I am wondering if they are real sets. They say u.s mint on them and come in cases. Could they be reprints or collectibles/counterfeits? How do I know?
This would sound like a silly statement, but you simply have to know what you are buying. Do you have images of your sets? Alternatively, what might make you fear a counterfeit proof set? Lastly, what years are you buying?
Are proof sets commonly faked? I would think that would be hard to do as many genuine sets are available for comparison.
Only the pre-1955 proof sets would be worth futzing with (inserting business coins for proof coins) but as far as modern proof sets are concerned, if they say US Mint, they are probably a product of the US Government. Since 1965, Special Mints Sets and yearly Proof Sets have been packaged in plastic lenses with a light cardboard jacket. They also contained a COA (certificate of Authentication) from the Mint. You need to do some easy research to make certain what your getting is the real deal. Happy Collecting
The only thing I would be concerned about is some dealers,have been taking coins and polishing them making them look like proofs,but other than that,they should be real
I agree with the above posts that the proof sets are likely to be genuine in in original government packaging. I guess there may be an issue from 1999 on if someone inserted a clad proof in place of a silver proof though. TC
My only concern would be if somone replaced a coin of higher quality with one of a lower quality. It would be easy to do that. For example, suppose someone collects all denominations slabbed PF70. The collector orders two dozen sets from the Mint, and swaps coins out of the various sets to make one complete set of 70's to submit for grading. I doubt that a dealer would go to this trouble since they have bulk submission privileges, but I can't say that it is beyond possibility for an individual collector. Chris
A couple years back there was a company that was marketing things like "1936 Tribute Proof Set"s They were proof struck copies of the 1936 cent, nickel, dime etc and they were packaged in genuine US Mint Proof set holders (1968 - 72 and 1985? - 1998 style holders) They wouldn't fool anyone but a rank amateur though. The coins were marked COPY, and obviously the maker was only used to the post 1968 type proof sets because all the "Tribute" 1936 proof coins had S mintmarks, and the mintmarks were on the obverses.
I am buying sets from the 70's and 80's, I would think they would be more money for what I am paying for them because the proof sets that are newer cost a lot more. The most I have paid for one of these sets is 8.00 dollars, they have a ton of them on ebay and I buy them because I figure, heah, they are almost two dollars worth of coin to begin with and I get the dollars and half dollars as well. So, is there some reason they are so cheap to buy? I don't see any indication that they are not real, they look like real coins in the case. Thanks, coinfreshman
They are so cheap simply because of the laws of supply and demand. The US Mint produced millions of these sets each year during this period and there are significantly fewer collectors of these sets today than there are sets. Hence, they are dirt cheap and have been dirt cheap for the better part of two decades. I don't see any financial upside in this niche, but if you like them then that is great.
At one time the '71 and '72 proof sets got down to 150% of face value. Even today there are proof set from that era that you can sell the half dollar at wholesale and keep the rest of the set for free. Don't get the idea that there's any lower limit on the price these can sell. The 1980 mint set was so unloved that at one time it wholesaled for $4.50. It contains $4.82 face value. Shops often pay only 80 or 90% of wholesale so people would be selling them $4.82 face for as little as $3.60 without realizing it. Proof sets are even harder to crack and people are even more reluctant to crack them since the coins are so pretty.
The big thing to watch out for is people who replace the coins in the 1999 silver proof set with those from a regular proof set. I suppose it's not just the 1999, but the other years with silver and regular proof sets too.
Hint: The green sets from the 90's have held their value if you bought them directly from the Mint or at a reasonable price off the secondary market. In the last couple of years they have dropped in price, but still command a significant premium over their issue price. Also, any 90% silver proof set from the same era is doing well, the silver sets from 1999 on are doing extremely well. The purple sets have always been cheap. The hawkers who sell a complete run of proof sets from say 1961 thru 1998 make a killing off these "filler sets" You still have to own them for a complete set but not at their ridicules prices. Good luck, and Happy Collecting.
