Mint Sets & Proof Sets for DAYS!

I'm not sure how many different ways I can say it. Obviously I'm failing in communicating here. Not your fault, mine.

I don't care if the proof set with one each: $.50, $.25, $.10, $.05, and $.01 (total=$.91) is only worth $.91. I'm saying there is value beyond breaking it open and spending $.91 in a vending machine. Leave the set as a tip in a restaurant. Give it to a kid walking with his mom/dad in the supermarket. Give it to a relative. Donate it to the Boy/Girl Scouts. Donate a few to a charity. I don't know, think outside the box.

Breaking the set open, even if the enclosed $.91 is only worth $.91 is not the way to dispose of the proof set. EVER.

 

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Oh ok I get what you're saying. I misunderstood last time I thought you were saying it's worth more as a sealed set than broken up. But apparently what you meant to say is that it's not worth more money wise but I might as well keep it as a set since there's no harm in doing so and I can still spend it as a whole set.

 

Ding, ding, ding, we haaaaaaaave a winner!!!!

 

You don't have to be sarcastic about it. It was just a misunderstanding.

 

I think it is worth more as a set than opened up, whether to inspire youth, or to sell. Unless you have high grade coins or errors then they probably would be worth more taken out but then you would have to be able to grade coins and know that you have a 67 or better to make it worth sending in to a TPG.

 

Wasn't meant to be sarcastic in the least. Like I mentioned in the previous post, my failure to communicate wasn't your fault, it was mine.

 

Wait so they can be lower than 67 even if they've never been touched?

I thought they would be 68-69 just since they're brand new and untouched from the Mint.

 

The Sheldon Grading Scale will always have the OGP coins as PF. However, theoretically it can grade as low as a PF60. If the QC person at the mint was asleep that day, and a really poor coin made it into a set, sure it could grade that low. It'll always be a PF though, because that's the type of strike it was. Nothing to do with condition.

 

I know that proofs are PFs and that it’s about polishing the dies and stuff.

What I’m saying is that I thought any brand new coin from the Mint that is untouched would grade at least 67.

Whether it’s a proof or not a proof.

I just thought brand new coins would grade PF67-MS67 or better.

 

For the most part, they will.

I don't think I have seen a recent modern coin -- proof or not -- that scored under a 68. I'm sure they are out there, but probably very rare.

 

maybe this was against the rules... delete

 

So then are there any I should send in for grading if they look to be in MS67+ condition?

 

He is saying they can't be worth less than ms68. Usually when someone does this, they crack open 100's of sets and examine each coin under a glass - searching for MS70s and Proof 70s. It is a whole enterprise.

 

@JeffC ... @1865King ...I had to put my Great Aunt in a nursing home late ‘80s, she had dementia. The heartbreaking part for me was every week I would check on her and every week I had to re-introduce myself.........

@masterswimmer ...I have posted before, that, over the last 2 years, at least 1/3 of my collection of 59 years has already been placed in the hands of my family, the right coins to the right person...now. The remaining 2/3 might take about 4 more years, but everything is slated for physical transfer. (I have at least 4 years left in me....).

I do have many mint and proof sets from the ‘60s thru 2009, including SMS, that I am keeping in a safe, but they have a key to access when I shuffle off this mortal coil. Some of those are not heirloom, though, and your idea for giving resonates with me. Thanks for the great idea. I bought some ‘90s and ‘00s sets that will be excellent choices for gift giving.

Peace, brothers and sisters...Spark

 

When I was a dealer, up until a decade ago, there were dealers who would buy Proof sets at a discount under Grey Sheet bid, and it was always more than face value. This was especially true if the cases and cardboard covers were in good shape.

 

Modern Proofs really need to be cameo or deep cameo as well. Business strike mints sets can still have hits or lack the luster of a 67 or higher that bring the grade down. The difference between 66, 67 and 68 can be one or two small imperfections and luster differences.

 

You can't and you hit the nail on the head, get rid of the shiny slugs and focus on collectable coins that have a value higher than face. Love your comments!

 

what is a shiney slug?

 

There are lots of coins in there that have almost no value right now and are unlikely to get more valuable but to understand these markets will require more work than asking vague questions on a message board.

A lot of the coins in the mint sets for instance are exceedingly common so have highly limited potential while most are actually scarcer than a '50-D nickel!! Most of the mint set coins have no value because there is virtually no demand. The coins are scarce and no one cares. Then there is the issue of tarnish. Most or all of the coins in mint sets are tarnished and the coin is difficult to restore if it can be restored at all.

I tend to agree that common coins with little potential may as well be spent.

I would suggest that you identify the silver that has no potential and liquidate it first, Especially get rid of the silver that has a significant premium and no potential and use the proceeds to buy silver bars or coin. You end up with more silver.

You should be aware that high grade coins are exceedingly valuable. If that 1984 quarter is a nice chBU coin it has excellent potential. If it's a Gem it's worth a few dollars. But if it's a superb Gem it can be worth thousands of dollars right now. Don't get your hopes up too much the odds are against having such coins but they are out there and there is quite likely to be one in a very large hoard.

Collectors hate moderns. Even those who don't hate them rarely understand these markets. Hell, I don't understand the markets and I'm selling into it. It's pretty easy to get bad advice about moderns and as you suggest a lot of it is just a matter of opinion. I would suggest that you at least consider busting up most of the sets to store the coins properly but this should be a longer term goal since some sets lose value if busted and don't really need to be.

Good luck.

 

We all need to be much less strident in our personal opinions about what another collector should do or not do.

Personally (as an avid coin collector), I buy and dismantle any post-1967 Mint set I think has potential MS66/67/68+ coins in it, especially quarters and dimes.

I'm working on my 'skill' identifying potentially high grade Gems in the OGP. If I think I've got one and I've purchased the mint set cheaply (ie face value or a bit more than face value), I'll dismantle the set, keep the Gem coin(s) and spend the rest.

I actually tested myself recently doing this. I sent a raw Gem 1972-D quarter to NGC and got MS66*...just under the 'magical' MS67 or 68.

One cannot assume 70s/80s/90s mint set coins are always MS67/68/69, etc. They were typically handled somewhat carelessly at the Mint and, often, once in private hands.

For those 'appalled' by my SOP of breaking out and spending unwanted mint set coins, think about it differently. For every mint set I dismantle and spend, yours becomes scarcer and potentially more desirable.

As for proof sets, I only buy ones that have silver coins and only when at a 'good' price....but I'll take them as gifts anytime.