Is it a good idea to break open proof and mint sets to fill holes in collections? My past rule has been to break open only ones which are duplicate sets, as I heard some time ago that since many such sets are being opened, eventually this could cause a shortage in sets, which could make them more valuable. Does anyone have opinions or useful advice regarding this? I would deeply appreciate some feedback! Thanks in advance!
I personally detest the idea of breaking up mint sets as eventually they will get scarce. There are many people who break up mint sets and ironically they do not want some coins from them. If you are lucky, you might be able to find such people who are willing to sell you their unwanted coins from the broken up mint sets.
I think sets should not be broken up because the coins are worth more as a set. Besides there are plenty of coins for broken up set out there for sell, so why would you?
Yes, it could well be that some day the sets will be worth more if left intact. But when that day will be is anybody's guess - it certainly hasn't arrived yet, there are still sets out there that cost less now than they did when issued by by the mint. So, as much as I don't like to say this, my advice would be to do what you want. If you want to break them up then do so. Personally I always preferred collecting the original sets, but then I never was an album collector.
