I have seen discussion on various coin forums about the 2009 uncirculated mint sets being more desireable due to the composition of the cents that are in them? Can someone fill me in on this? I am very new to the hobby, but learning fast thanks to guys like you on these boards!
There's not much to add to HULLCOINS loquacious response other than to say the 2009 Mint set is the only place you can find non-proof 2009 95% copper cents. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent (Lincoln's 200th birthday) the Mint produced all proof cents and the Mint set cents in their original composition (95% copper and 5% tin/zinc). All other 2009 Lincoln cents were made of the current 99.2% zinc with a 0.8% copper plating.
Actually aren't all of the coins which were sold in the 2 roll sets from the mint also 95% copper? I could be mistaken but I thought they were...
I believe the roll set they sell from the us mint is same as production cent, except they have nice wrapper.
Sorry for the quick response didn't mean for it to sound so crude. and thanks yakpoo for filling in the details.
You get a like from me, and 18 bonus points, for the greatest use of loquacious I've seen on any forum this year. /Who am I kidding? It's the ONLY one. //It would have only been 12 points, but 6 more for the sarcasm.
That would be because the reverse design is the third since the Lincoln was first released in 1909. Actually, it would be the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth reverse design change as there are four new reverse designs released in 2009. From 1909 - 1959 the reverse design was the wheat back. From 1960 - 2009 the reverse design was the Lincoln Memorial. In 2009 there were four reverse designs released, in celebration of Lincoln's life, Kentucky Childhood, Indiana Years, Life in Illinois, and The Presidency. 2010 was brought the seventh reverse design change for the Lincoln penny(or cent) with the Shield design, Preservation of the Union, to mark the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, and the preserving of the union of the United States.
If you mean desirable in the sense of what they sell for, I did an average of the last 15 auctions on Ebay(true auctions only, not BIN's) and they're averaging right around $30.00. Then I looked for completed auctions where only the cents out of the sets were sold and only found one set which sold for $15.00. If this is what the cents usually sell for then you could say it's the cents that makes this set more desirable. Is the set going to keep going up in value? Nobody can give you that answer. History tells us that mint sets generally lose value over time. If you like them, buy them for collecting purposes only, not for investment.
Might want to check those dates. Wheat Reverse 1909-1958 Memorial Reverse 1959-2008 The Lincoln Cent gets a new reverse design every 50 years. So new reverses were introduced in 1959 and 2009. I can't wait to see what the new reverse designs will be for 2059 and 2109.
