Proof Sets

I recently got a 50 dollar box of pennies and it was FULL of shiny 1960-1980 pennies. Some have S mint marks and are extremely shiny. Are they worth anything? They don't have that deep proof but are just extremely shiny. Also another question is what years did proof sets start having silver? What was the first year? I have a 1989 half proof but don't know if its silver. Also what are some proof mints, what years are the coins missing the 's'

 

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The picture may not be clear but I was just trying to show you the luster, it is an S mint mark.

 

Get a Redbook of US coins. All your answers are in there.

 

The S mint marked cents for those years are not worth much but it's cool you found them in such great shape.

Proof sets from 1936 to 1964 had silver. In 1992 they started making them again. From 1992 till now they made them with silver and also without silver. The 1989 would not be silver. Hope that helps.

 

Business strike coins bearing the San Francisco mint mark (in the time frame you mention above) were struck between 1969 and 1974. They were minted in large quantities and generally don't command much of a premium except for a couple of varieties.

I think it would be easier to say when the mint stopped making silver proof sets and that was 1964, although the half dollar coins of '68-'70 (proof) did contain 40% silver. In 1992 the mint started making silver proof sets again available to the public. Your '89 half is clad.

All of the mints facilities have at one point or another struck proof coins. The 'S' on proof coins didn't appear until 1968.

 

I recently paid about $20 for the entire 1980's S minted cents. Thus, they are probably worth about $2/each assuming mint state.

 

Hmmm...where to begin?

1. It's always humorous to see someone handling a Zinc cent like a radioactive isotope!
2. The Mint began making Silver Proof sets again in 1992. 1989 = "No Silver"
3. You may find a Red Book is helpful with your other questions.

Edit: Ooops...(sorry) I thought it was "1984"...you may need gloves handling that one.

 

Not to be disagreeable, but I wouldn't use the red book for valuing coins. I would use ebay completed auctions.

 

For valuing the coins, no. But for all the information about types, mintages, how they are made etc, YES.

 

Back in the day...before TPGs and eBay...the Red Book was all we had. "50% of Red Book" was a pretty good reference point when estimating what a Dealer would pay for most coins.

 

How much would a paper( not hard) copy of the 2014 redbook cost? I plan on getting one.

 

PM me your addy. I've got a 2013 ya can have.......hard cover and all.

 

As mentioned by Condor, I use the redbook for all the other information other than the value. I find it quite handy but I like Krause better. Depending on the value of the PM's, the price can be sometimes even low in the red book. Thus, I use ebay completed listings and coinflation to value my coins. I've created a link to coinflation values to update my inventory value. It is quite neat. By the way, I agree that the redbook is overstated by almost double in many instances. It is only used by dealers to show sellers that they are getting a great deal. When buying, the grey sheet seems to be the sellers best friend.

 

The app iCoin$ has similar information with pictures of most grades. If you are tech savvy, it is a pretty neat tool.

 

agreed.

Read, then read some more, then read again.

I do, every day

 

hmmm...

aw, I abused Ken enough.




Nice of you, Ken.

 

This has to be some sort of trap. Frank being nice?

 

Would a 1776-1976 S mint mark half have 40% silver? This rim looks so coppery.

 

some of them are 40%
:ninja::ninja::fro::3three:

 

How do I know if it's silver??