When I was 8, I’d saved up $100 and told my dad I wanted to invest it lol. He took me to the bank and, at his suggestion, I bought an uncirculated gold dollar, an uncirculated silver dollar, and a bank set for that year. I found the bank set not long ago and decided to check it out today, expecting to see perfect coins. To my surprise not only are the coins not perfect, some have what looks like significant damage... I hesitate to say PMD but still, found this kinda disappointing and thought I’d share. (BTW- I don’t think I see any errors or anything out of the ordinary besides the chips and cracks; these are all normal looking to me!)
What damage are you seeing? I see a lot of lint, dust and paper fragments/fibers from the Mint set. What's a bank set? You mean a Mint Set?
Carbon spots on penny, big scratch thru the eagle on reverse of quarter, scratches all over monticello among other coins... maybe I’m judging too harshly?
Even if these sets were never opened there is never a 100% guarantee that some coins could not have been mishandled when they were assembled at the Mint. The Jefferson nickels almost always had imperfections on the reverse. Philly quality control has always been a subject of consternation. They really do not have the same quality control in place as Denver or San Fran. In addition, it is always also possible to see spots form eventually as all plastic is permeable and therefore subject to the coins environment. Maybe stored in an attic, a cellar or even a closet without the right humidity and temperature. I have often found fibers inside both Mint & Proof sets, likely from the handlers gloves. A dusty environment at the Mint could also allow fibers and dust into the cases before they are sealed. The coin most likely to suffer is the cent post 1982 as they have a tendency to spot from the poor make up of zinc with the copper plating.
The biggest thing wrong most make is assuming the Mint did their job correctly. So many will just put the Mint & proof sets away for a long time without checking them. The best thing is to check them as soon as you get them and if you see defects, ask for a replacement. Hindsight is 20/20 as has been said.
The quality control at Philly stinks! @MCPark82- You could always "gently and slowly" open the case, pop the coins out, give them an acetone bath, blow off the lint and paper fibers and put it back.
I've never heard of a bank set. In fact, I've never heard of a bank selling sets of coins or any uncirculated coins.
These coins were placed in the holder after they left the mint. It is likely they could have been dinged around when they were removed from the mint packaging. I am not aware that the mint packaged mint sets in these plastic holders. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. They were put into cellophane and then into an envelope, then boxed up. The holder in this case appears to be after market. Here is what the 1990 mint sets looked like when they left the mint (picture appropriated from the internet).
First is is not a mint set. It is a set put together in the aftermarket and sold by a private company. The coins in the set may have come from a mint set, but it is much more likely they were just pulled from new rolls from boxes of circulation coins. A "bank set" is usually a set of circulating coins put together by a private company and provided to a bank that sells them at an inflated price with the bank and the supplier splitting the profits. Around here at one time all the banks in the area were provided with coins to sell by Silvertowne. Silvertowne is just about 20 miles down the road. So the local bans sold sets like that along with other items, bullion silver eagles in a display case for $27 when silver was $14, stuff like that.
I have heard the term before and I think it refers to a set of coins put together from coins obtained from the bank. Not sure about that.
Lawtoad, the set you posted IS a US Mint issue, the aftermarket holder I was referring to was the one the OP has.
I think I said the holder in the OP was aftermarket. The original mint sets were in cellophane. Sorry if I was not clear. Mint products have identifiers on the holders showing they are U.S. Mint packaged. I was just showing what mint sets looked like when they left the mint. That's all.