Does anyone collect mint or proof set assembly errors? Is there any interest in them? I have one with the Washington Dollar out of sequence. Position 3 instead of 1.
Dunno the answer. I certainly have no interest. Could they be faked too easily? I wonder if @cladking might have some insight. This also reminds me...is there any plan to mint a dollar for Jimmy Carter?
That is a quite interesting occurrence, especially since the 2007 sets are sealed around each coin. Likely not worth much more but someone will pay a premium for it. If you have an Ebay account, I'd auction it and see what it goes for. CDNs (wholesale/retail) are $20/27 ($10/13.50 for just the P).
I collect them every year through subscription. I'll have to look at mine to see if I have the same issue. If not, I would definitely be interested.
You ever tried to open one of those packages? Other than tin snips and a chisel they're almost impossible to open.......
I don’t collect them but I will buy them if I’m inclined to do do. Here’s one of my favorites. The printing on the proof set is in the wrong spot. When it’s folded shut, the description is on the inside, not on the outside.
For the proof sets, you can open one with your mere fingers - or you can take a knife and do it. That's only for the 1968-98, though. '99 and on can be opened with ease. You might need the tools you mentioned to crack open an SEGS slab though. I've heard those are really tough.
I got a chance to check mine. Both are ordered properly. As I mentioned, I don't think there is much of a premium, but collectors like me would want it if it were mislabeled or had incorrect packaging if priced right.
Most of the packaging errors I ran into weren't very interesting. Mostly it was missing coins and extra coins. There were some I'd have liked to keep like the wrong mint dimes in the '69 sets. There were lots of '79 quarters where the SBA was supposed to be which was ironic. I never saw it but I heard of a 1970 mint set with "3" small dates in it; two where the S cent was supposed to be and one where the Philly cent belonged. The old packaging was unstable so I cut them all up, including dozens of all-Gem sets, to protect the coins. It really broke my heart to cut the all-Gem sets. One of these was a 1968 set with all spectacular and mostly PL Gems. It was an impossibility with every coin in the top .5 %ile or better. Someone unfamiliar with US coins would have mistaken it for a proof set. Packaging after 1983 is far more stable but if you want to collect intact sets you need to keep a close eye on them. Already 1988 and 1989 packaging is starting to go bad. Five years ago very few coins in these sets were tarnished and suddenly it's approaching 10%. Store your sets vertically in a dry temperature controlled environment and keep a close eye on them. Pre 1982 sets should just be cut. A few dates like the '73 and '74 are still relatively unaffected but this probably won't last. A few coins are already toast because they've "all" gone bad in the packaging. Before 1980 a lot of sets were assembled manually and some of the most interesting "errors" may be the result of intention. Before this there were more sets with all good or all bad coins. Some of the dogs could be trained to bark.
Just to be clear here don't cut up all your sets and dump the tarnished ones into circulation. I really wasn't trying to mislead anyone. Rather I would strongly advise collectors to cut up all their pre-1982 mint sets unless they are still good and store the good sets properly. I cut up everything but this is because it is too hard for me to keep an eye on them in safety deposit boxes. 90% of these sets should already have been protected. When I say the coins are "tarnished" it is more what most people call "haze". This tarnish will ruin the coins if it's on too long but it can be removed with a soak in acetone about 80% of the time. Some of the coins can not be saved and this includes the vast majority of coins like the 1968 cent that are carbon spotted. Don't panic if you have a lot of coins in the original plastic but it is about the last chance to act.
