I just received by 2006 uncirculated mints set. Yes, they are in satin. My first impression is that the U.S. mint’s quality is a vast improvement from last year sets. The coins look great and you need a magnified glass to see any marks or scratches. This was not the case in 2005. I would like hear if others are having the same experience. Also, are the satins worth any more than the regular struck coins?
Received three. Opened one. The one I opened is not impressive in the least. The P cent has field marks, The P Dime has rim dings, The D quarters all have field dings, the D Dollar has a carbon? spot in the field. Just things I noticed with my TRIFOCALS... Didnt bother to open the other two.
Received three. Opened one. Very disappointed in overall quality- I guess I'm too used to proof coins. My D set was better than the P set, and most of the Reverses were better than the Obverses. It seems that on most proof sets the Reverse is usually better quality- is there a reason for this?
Ouch. You just reminded me I forgot to order mine. I usually get about 15 for Christmas Presents for people. Hope I'm not to late.
I can really see a difference in the P & D mint coins. The P mint has noticable satin finish but the D mint coins in my two sets appear to be regular issue,very little or no satin finish.
Sometimes when I read theads like this one I wonder if we are all taking about the same thing! My 10 sets came yesterday and I only opened one for inspection. Like smon520, I could see an improvement from the 2005 sets. The set I opened has the closest I have ever seen of two perfect, full steps, no blemishes Jeffersons I have in my collection. I feel bad for those of you who think your sets are sub-par, but for the one that I inspected from mine, they are very good this year. Can any of the more learned posters here explain these wide varying reports? My only guess is that I got coins very soon after die changes.
The changes to the design on the reverse of the new Jeffs really strengthened the steps, I'd expect full steps on nearly all of the '06 Nickels, now the dings, spots, and scratches are another story...
Got mine,cut up one,opened one,left one sealed.They all appear to be perfect.No dings or scratches visible to the naked eye.My 2005's were the same.Before 2004...forget about it! They were uniformly sucky.I credit this exclusively to the satin finish.
I suspect your guess is accurate. But people who work at the mint do read. They read the numismatic press and they read some of these forums - they are quite aware that the buying public has been unhappy with the quality of their products and they have said that they have taken steps to improve that quality. Maybe it's working
I also ordered 2 sets, opened one and found scratches and dents on the coins. I do think the satin finishes are better, but somewhat disappointed.
Looked over my sets just now and I will say they are just what I expect from the mint. Acceptable but a far cry from great. In my Denver set the Kennedy and Jefferson look more like the old Unc finish and really stand out from the rest of the more satin coins. In the Philly set, the Dollar has a gouge about the size of Sacagaweas nose in the field but the remainder of the coins in the set are very nice. I would say that side by side, the Philly set (even with the gouge) beat the Denver mint this time around.
I was prompted by the postings here to take a look at my newly arrived mint sets with a new (birthday present) microscope. I was surprised at the extent of the marks, dings, etc on these coins, but now I understand the term "bag marks" better. However there was a flaw in the Denver Sac. A dimple. I think I have seen similar flaws before (most noticably in gold coins). So I am going to add a couple of pictures. One taken with a camera where I have added a pointer to the dimple. The second was taken with a camera on the microscope. Unfortunately it adds a 10x to the regular microscope lens, so it it pretty high magnification and I can't lower it. So the second picture is hard to interpret. The dimple actually looks like half of a bubble - i.e. a semi spherical indentation. Any comments?
Doubled Reverse on the Kennedy? I got three sets, disappointing overall quality. However in one of the sets the Kennedy Half has a severely doubled reverse. All the letters in "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and all of the stars in the row directly below these letters. Anybody else? This scan is the best I can do.
