Hate to break up this set but I'm concerned about the dark spots! What would you do? Try to clean and return to this holder, or try to clean and put in 2X2 flips?
I would not return to that holder; I would put in 2x2s. Three of those coins appear to be spotting at the same spots, or general area. I think I'd get them out of there. Any idea who produced that set? That's not a US Mint product, is it? Good luck, sir.
I have a set like that also (bought it in a lot with other coins) The holder was falling apart, so put them all in 2x2 flips with the info from the card copied and put in the other side.
Don't know who produced these sets, but guess I need to get rid of it and put the ones I can save in 2X2's. I've had these for years! Probably not long after 1982!
Wow, alurid! Yeah, those do look to be holding up swell. I turn into quite the hand-wringer when it comes to my coins in questionable packaging. For example, I recently busted up a set I bought in Vatican City in about 2000 because the packaging was a soft pliable plastic, which worried me. I hated doing it but I didn't want to one find some degeneration occurring from the plastic. And the coins could move around too much, which I felt would cause too much wear. There are some here on CT who urgently recommend breaking up US Mint sets because of deterioration from the packaging materials - including cases. I haven't gone that far. It's hard for me to do so because most of my US Mint sets I inherited from my dad. Some of these are over fifty years old. Only once did I break up one of his US Mint sets - a proof set, from the 1980s I think - because I could see toning occurring over time, which concerned me. Especially one of the silvers in a particular spot, which scared me.
I used to collect mint sets, and found a box of them including some rare circulation strikes. the 82's and 83's are harder to find. There were private companies that sealed them in cellophane and sold them as mint sets. Also the US mint did issue souvenier sets from the mint visitors centers in Philadelphia and Denver.
Too bad for the spots on those coins, luckily they are relativity easy to replace/upgrade them and place in a 2x2 or album. Hey! I, too, have one each of the souvenir sets from the mint visitor center. They are hard to find intact now.
