Tonight I took a closer look at coins in 10 1965 mint sets I bought awhile back. They were all taken out of the mint cellophane and put in those 5 coin holders. Some were starting to get green spots on them (is there anything I can do about that?) and while most of the coins were in semi-decent shape I only set aside 2 quarters, a cent piece, and 4 dimes. The quarters appear to have been a weak strike, but the cent piece is a brilliant red and the dimes and in pristine condition. Take a look at the cent piece and one of the quarters and tell me what you think the grade might be. I have some ideas of my own, but I'm still learning... http://www.krookedhouse.com/coins/Lincoln01.jpg http://www.krookedhouse.com/coins/Washington01.jpg
I'm pretty sure they did, which was why I was removing them from their holders. There are water spots on some of the holders and on some of the coins, and the green is obviously corrosion. I was hoping to find a way to remove it or at least stop it. It's hard to see, but here's a pic: http://www.krookedhouse.com/coins/GreenC.jpg
On another note, the quarters that came with these 1965 sets don't want to fit in my standard airtite holders... the quarters are too big. However my Canadian quarters fit in just fine, but I don't have any more recent US Quarters to test with (I'm Canadian). Are the 1965 quarters a different size then regular quarters?
( i think ill try this new format to write in... it centers my text in the middle of the page) Um.. some of my proof sets have green spots like that definitly corrosion.. mines starting on th dime yah is there anything we can do to prevent this.. i always thought taking them out would be even worse tan leaving them in there..
I gotta ask, did you take the coins out of the original mint packaging and place them into these holders. Or were the coins already in these holders when you purchased them ?
They were already in these holders and I bought the 10 of them as a lot. I didn't pay very much for them since I knew "the seal" was broken, but I thought a few might be salvagable.
Fair enough - so what makes you think they were Mint sets ? I rather think they were not. Based on the appearance of the coins I would say that they were just coins that somebody put together in these holders. That would explain why the coins have the green stuff on them due to improper prior storage. As to the grade of the coins in your first 2 pics, I think they are both circulated - AU/XF.
I'm pretty confident the cent is SMS but not nearly as much so with the quarter. The quarter has been a little roughly treated. It's possible that an acetone bath would take care of it but probably not. A lot of these sets are degraded and even more of the coins from the sets. When buying coins that appear in mint sets you should be familiar with the premium associated with the set. In many cases this premium is small or even negative but it can be quite large. The coins in a $17 1995 mint sets are only worth about $2.50 while the coins in a $12 1986 mint set are worth about $15. Don't pay the premium for busted sets and be sure to know what the coins are worth individually as well.
Actually, you bring up a great point! There's no reason to think they were part of a set and it explains quite a bit about the quarters condition. And speaking of quarters... the 1965 American quarter is approximately 24.36 mm wide and 1.65 mm thick, whereas the 1969 Canadian quarter is 24 mm wide and 1.37 mm thick. I bought the Airtite's from an American company who says they are a standard size, but the Canadian quarter fits and the American quarter does not. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
I know it's kind of hard to tell from the pics, but the field (flat empty parts of the coin?) of each coin is free of any scratches you would normally see on a circulated coin... there are a few hairlines however. Oddly enough, the quarters look like they may have wear, but I thought this might have been because of a weak strike. Maybe someone gave them a bath... could that clean up circulation scratches?
That depends on what size you bought and what type. There is a difference between direct fit and ring type holders.
