Proof Coin Questions

I went to a coin show today (first one since I was a about 8!!) and saw lots of pretty proof quarters...in cardboard flips. Why? My understanding was that proofs are only sold in the hard plastic mint sets, which seems like the smartest way to get them and store if you want them. Where did these proofs come from?

Thanks as always for reading/responding!

 

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More than likely someone cracked open the plastic case and sent one of the other coins in to be slabbed - probably hoping to get it in a high-grade slab. The remaining coins apparently went into 2X2s to be sold off individually. Sometimes you find rolls of Proof coins. The source is the same - sets that are broken.

 

Sometimes people & dealers break up Proof sets for the individual coins. Every once in a while a proof will turn up in circulation as somebody breaks the set & spends it.

 

I will buy proof coins to fill blanks in my coin books. Often, the dealer can get an upcharge for coins broken from the mint packaging over selling the set outright. It is kind of like selling parts from a used car. Sometimes, the parts sell for more than the car is worth.

 

I purchase 2 proof sets, and 1 uncirculated mint set from the Mint each year.

1 proof set is kept in OGP. The second is cracked out, placed in 2x2 flips, and in a binder, as is the uncirculated mint set.

A lot of people do this as well.

 

In 2006, I decided to put together some 13-coin Westward Journey nickel sets with BU P&D of each of the Peace Medal, Keelboat, Bison, Ocean in View and Return to Monticello. The three extra slots were for the different obverse images of Jefferson - facing left, partially forward-facing and forward facing. Since I already had one of each of the uncirculated designs in each set, I decided to use the proof coins for the remaining three.

I was able to find an online dealer who had rolls of the proof nickels. He explained to me that he would submit the proof sets intact for grading and specified a minimum grade of PF69UCAM (or DCAM). He said that it wasn't worth the grading fees for anything less. So, the TPG would charge him a nominal fee for the ungraded coins and return them to him, and he'd sell them off in rolls, rather than individually, to recover most of his costs. I bought 9 rolls of 2004-2006 proof nickels for $900.

Chris

 

I know this guy that must have broke several hundred 1964 proof sets to send the half in for grading.
He was always trying to sell the other proofs left over.

 

Ditto, me too.

 

Is it really worth sending in coins from a proof set for grading though?

Seeing the proof quarters made me think, "hey, those are really pretty. Maybe I should look into getting the state quarter proof sets..." NOT "Today I shall overpay for individual state proofs!" I personally like the mint set cases, but that's just me. I guess too part of the neat thing with proofs is that they have never been touched since they left the mint and that, to me, is part of the reason to get the sets. To me, breaking them open is sacrilege, but what do I know?? :smile




And I'm sure this is a smiley option: :dead-horse:

 

Here is a 1963 Proof Franklin I found in circulation years ago.

 

If your only purpose for collecting is the bottom line, then probably not. However, if your purpose is mostly for the pleasure that it gives you, then you make up your own set of rules. It may be that the coin has sentimental value. It may be that the coin is your first error discovery from a Mint purchase. If it is a coin that you want to be sure that 50 years from now will look exactly the way it was when you found it, it doesn't matter what value it may have.

Chris

 

Do the slabbing companies do anything different than the mint in terms of conservation?

 

The Mint doesn't conserve coins.

Chris

 

Ok, so what does the mint and a slabbing company do differently in terms of encasing coins in plastic? What is the difference in the coin that is in a mint case vs. a pcgs case 25 years from now?

 

The slabs used by NGC & PCGS are pretty much able to keep airborne contaminants from reaching and affecting the coins, whereas, the Mint packaging cannot.

Chris

 

If you maintained appropriate climate conditions, you could probably store them in flips on your coffee table for 50 years without them being affected.

Chris

 

I have recently become interested in collecting earlier proof sets. When I go to shows and look online, I see many proof sets from the late 1950's and 1960's that are stored in hard plastic cases (like the Capital brand). Does the fact that they no longer have the original Treasury mailing envelope, informational insert and are no longer stored in the original flexible plastic the Mint placed them in decrease their value (to most collectors and dealers)? I like the presentation value of some of these post-Mint hard plastic cases (they look really nice), but should I ever have to sell them, I wonder if they would sell at a discount sans their original packaging/documentation? As far as reselling someday, I guess there might be a penalty to pay for collecting the way I have described, but I'm sure some would say you can't put a value on the amount of enjoyment you get from collecting the way you like. Thanks.