Is the US Mint confusing young collectors??

Okay...the mint had a late product in 2014...the Coin Discovery Set. It contains three coins (all Kennedy Half Dollars) and is teaching young collectors about Numismatics. According to the set, the three finishes on the Kennedy Half Dollars are the Proof (San Francisco), the Uncirculated (Philadelphia), and the Circulated (Denver).

So in a brand new set, with a fully uncirculated circulated quality coin, can even an expert from this forum tell the difference in finish between the Uncirculated and Circulated coin in the set?

Or, is this set being provided to young collectors confusing, as the uncirculated circulated quality coin would still grade as a high MS coin from any expert or TPG?

The set comes with gloves, and a magnifier....so they expect the coins to be evaluated in detail, or even broken out of the set and inspected. How would a new collector (or anyone for that matter) tell the difference between the Uncirculated and Circulated finish in the set?

This is a confusing set to release as a introduction into coins as it trys to demonstrate a difference (which there is one in manufacturing) that is not visible as a numismatist.

Or am I missing something...it is late. Maybe they are trying to show how a great coin from circulation strikes can be as nice as an uncirculated coin from sets????

 

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Considering that the Mint has not been releasing Kennedy half dollars into circulation since 2001, it's my guess that they are trying to encourage more people to take them off of the Treasury Department's hands.

Chris

 

But why do they put it out in this set as a different finish?

 

Back in 2011 and 2012 the coins in the Uncirculated sets were a little different from those in the Circulating Coin sets. Are you saying that's changed?

 

My guess? It's not a different finish. It's just seen some circulation wear. Nobody uses the half dollar any more except collectors, and they really don't want the circulated coins.......MS only. So, what group of collectors can the Mint attract for these coins? Naturally! Young kids who don't know squat.....at least for now!

Chris

 

The “uncirculated” coins are different from circulating coins, they are similar to 1965 to 1967 sms coins. To a novice the difference may be hard to discern, but to a numismatist it is apparent. I’m surprised the TPG’ers don’t recognize the difference.

 

http://catalog.usmint.gov/faqs-faqc...esign.html?fdid=faqcategory-products-programs

 

Mint Set coins, denoted as "Uncirculated" finish, are handled differently than the coins that end up in the US Mint bags and rolls (i.e. "circulation" finish).

Is this set confusing for the new collector?

Just look at the discussion from experienced collectors in this thread.

 

They aren't offering a "circulated" coin, it's a circulating coin. In other words, the finish, if you will, used to produce coins intended for circulation.

 

Dang those pesky suffixes!

 

I love Sussex in summer! lol

 

The mint uses terms differently than we do. If a coin is a proof, we call it a proof, the mint calls it a proof. If a coin is a piece of business strike quality but made for a collector set we call it Uncirculated or MS, the Mint calls it Uncirculated. If it is a business strike quality coin but made for general circulation we call it uncirculated or MS, the mint calls it circulated. So a business stike made for circulation even with no wear on it at all the mint calls circulated.

 

There is no circulated coin in the set.

From the Mint website: "includes three 2014 Kennedy Half-Dollars in three different finishes — proof, uncirculated and circulating"

The circulating coin is not circulated.

 

I never said there was.

 

It may not have been circulated, but it has the same finish as a circulated coin. "Uncirculated" coins have a different finish than the ones that were struck for circulation.

This may help more beginners remember: Proof (Polished), Brilliant (Burnished), Circulated (Canned)

 

So...a TPG graded MS66 coin from a Mint Set (Uncirculated Finish) versus a TPG graded MS66 coin from a roll or bag (Circulating Finish)....Even though these coins may be produced differently at the mint, is the Numismatic community going to consider them differently? Will anyone be able to tell them apart? These are not Satin finish coins. These do not get SP designation. These get no designation difference between them.....and I do not think folks can tell a business strike MS66 from a mint set MS66. Even though the production method creates a higher percentage of high grade coins for mint sets...is it really a different coin? Is it a different finish?

 

Definitely a different coin that can be identified easily by anyone who has experience comparing them. The TPG’ers failure to recognize the difference is just one more example of their inconsistency and one more example of why collectors are losing respect for them. I believe collectors will recognize the difference now and more so in the future – thus, a high grade circulating coin may well carry a premium over the same grade mint set coin.

 

The US Mint uses two distinct "finishes" for coins in the manufacturing process.

One is a Proof Finish while the other is what's referred to as a business strike (coins intended for circulation) or uncirculated finish (which is what we collectors refer to when a coin is preserved well enough to be collected).

The US Mint uses special handling for the coins intended for US Mint Sets. Possibly higher press pressures as well.

Coins intended for circulation such as those in rolls and bags, simply get minted and dumped into large bags for the rolling and packaging folks. These are what the US Mint refers to as the circulating finish.

So, the set will have 3 Kennedy's.
1 in a proof finish.
1 in an uncirculated finish.
1 in a circulating finish which will probably have hits and scratches and what not covering what would otherwise be a nice coin.

I think its wrong of the US Mint to be selling coins denoted as circulating coins as it just causes confusion as the OP surmised.

 

Heck, now I am confused!

 

However you look at it, the mint set coins are different than business strikes, so they are SMS (special mint set) coins that are discernable from business strikes. In 2011 when the mint started this current generation of mint sets, they described the finish as brilliant and they are more brilliant than business strikes.