What is everyone's opinion on holding or selling proof sets

Collector's question: I have over 550 proof sets from 1968 -2008. Keep or sell? Are they going to increase in value? They haven't performed very well in the past and maybe money would be better invested somewhere else.

 

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Money in these (invested) is a fools errand. My only suggestion would be to search what you have for certain varieties ('68 'no 's' dime, etc., etc). Proofs aren't an investment platform, they're a collecting platform.

Welcome to the forum, dear Lady............

 

Thank you....and I think the $$ would be better "invested". Just want to get other views. However, even the proof and uncirculated sets have gone down in value so trying to determine whether I should hang on for a while or bail now and update dollar collection. Is there a list of varieties to look for?

 

Red Book.......

 

I bought a proof set 30 years ago for $8. Current value $8. My old brick and mortar LCS offered me $5, which was fair, and I declined.

 

Off the top of my head, I'd check the following years:

1968 (missing S mint mark on the dime)
1970 (missing S mint mark on the dime; Small Date Cent)
1971 (missing S mint mark on the nickel)
1975 (missing S mint mark on the dime)
1979 (Type 2 - clear S mintmarks)
1981 (Type 2 - different than 1979 Type 2, which is the Type 1 for this year)
1983 (missing S mint mark on the dime)
1990 (missing S mint mark on the cent; a couple strong doubled dies on the nickel and quarter)

I'd also check for any rainbow toners or deep cameo early Kennedy Halves (1968-1970.)

As for your sets, there is a free online price guide at Numismedia. It will give a general idea of value for each year.

Personally, if someone handed me 550 US proof sets from 1968 - 2008, I'd check them all for varieties and then sell/trade them for something that takes up less room. I see tons of these sets at auction and they rarely get anyone excited (except me, because I check for the varieties and have found some pretty major ones.)

 

My, my, what a headache you will have after searching all of these. Aside from varieties/errors and high grade DCAM coins, if any at all, I dread being you in unloading these. But the best to you in this.

 

Other than silver proof and silver mint sets, be it contemporary or starting in the early 1900s, unless one has a variety or error within it, many people in the business do not like them. Experienced collectors don't want them either. (What would I want a 1973 proof set for?) Other than someone buying their birth year, they're basically dust collectors. It is highly unlikey they will increase in value because what is common will always be common even 300 years from now.

I agree with @green18. Look for errors and varieties carefully in your sets. With as many as you have, you are bound to have some. For example, A 1982 mint set where the dime has a missing "P" mintmark is a cool one (if you also have mint sets as well as proof sets). The other is maybe a set or a particular coin that has some really cool toning. Even things like die breaks, lamination, strikethroughs, etc.

For example, just the other day I bought a 1974-S uncirculated silver Eisenhower. I didn't notice until I put it in a slab it had a cool strike through in it. See here:



I hope this helps.

 

Thank you for that....that was helpful. Not sure I have the energy or time to go thru all but maybe checking the ones you noted is doable.

 

This will be a chore but are the oddities worth much more??

 

Yes, absolutely. All the missing mint mark varieties are worth significant premiums. The 1979/81 Type 2 dollars are about $50-75 each, as is the 1970 Small Date Cent (have gone down in the last few years but people will still buy them pretty quickly.)

All the missing mint mark coins are pretty much four figure and up coins, depending on condition. Very, very difficult to find. So you would be hitting the mini lottery if you had even one.

This is the 1970 "No S" Roosevelt Dime I got in a proof set from a coin shop. Ended up trading it for an ounce of gold... Proof that these coins are still out there, and worth looking for.

 

Show off......

 

I feel like I've posted that coin so many times, I don't want to get repetitive...lol

But people keep asking about those missing S proof coins, and I already have the photo...

Showing off (which I don't like to do) would be maybe to add this image of my most recent cherrypick (from an SMS set for $7):



Coming back from NGC as PF66 Ultra Cameo (only UCAM at NGC for the variety) and designated as the QDO (quadrupled die obverse.) I honestly didn't pick it for the variety, just bought all the sets with cameo halves and found it later.

 

Good advice here. There were zillions of those sets minted. Never will be a shortage of them.

 

Is that a strike through by the "T"?

 

I believe it's one of those grease-filled "trenches", yes. There is another between L and I.

 

The 1982 P dime does not come in the mint sets. And in fact, there's no such thing as a 1982 mint set. The no mintmark dime doesn't come in the souvenir sets either.

 

Using JCro57's list of what to look for I came up with nothing. A very time consuming process since most of these are still in sealed shipping boxes.

On the 1981 proof set I can not tell if they are type 1 or 2
Can anyone tell by the pics??

 

Maybe this photo might help as you can probably see it better in hand than I can with your photos. You are, of course looking for the Type 2 with a clearly defined "S". If this has fill inside the serifs then it is the filled Type 1 "S" variety which is the common one.