I worked my way down through the 1950 sets: And now I have finally acquired the final piece to my 1942 proof set, the Walker. The 1942 Proof Set was the final set to be produced by the United States Mint before the war caused another suspension in production. The US Mint sold the proof coins either individually or as part of a complete set. Towards the end of the year, the composition of the nickel was changed to 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese in order to conserve strategic metals for the war effort. Proof nickels were struck with both the original and new silver compositions. Mintages: Lincoln Cent: 32,600 Jefferson Nickel (nickel): 29,600 Jefferson Nickel (35% silver): 27,600 Mercury Dime: 22,329 Washington Quarter: 21,123 Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 21,120 I really took my time acquiring these: Just like with the 1950s.... these were all moved to a Capital Plastics holder:
Very nice. I particularly like the 1942 six piece set and of course it's very historic as commemorating the start of our involvement with WW-2. 1941 is nice but then you don't get the six pieces. How did you go about selecting the half? I've been looking at proof walkers at HA and GC and all I see are pieces with absolutely no proof appearance. Did you buy the coins in person? Proof sets are much cheaper now than they were. I think they are a great bargain and are really beautiful & significant pieces. Don't know if the prices have come up or they are still relatively cheap.
I watched the halfs on ebay for about a year. Just added them to my watch list and see where they went. Like you said... there are a TON of ugly ones. But no, did not buy in person. Just had to wait for the right one and with good pics. They can get really pricey at 66 and above.
Yes there are a ton of iffy ones or dark / spotty ones. Actually I've been looking at higher grades but still haven't gotten anything. The last proof set I bought was maybe 10+ years ago. Stack's was having a sale as they had a whole hoard of 1953 proof sets & I bought one of those: think it was $65 or $75. It looks nice but then came in the original small cardboard box of issue.
