I'm more of a stacker, but my interest in numismatics is growing fast. A family member gave me a "proof set" of 5 coins before I can even remember, from the year I was born, 1959. The coins have a bright, glossy finish. I have a question about the Franklin half dollar. Whey are there no bell lines visible at all? It has always been in the sealed slab. Thanks for any input! 1959 Franklin Proof by Alabama Stacker posted Mar 3, 2022 at 1:32 AM
Definitely NOT a proof. See the little D above the bell - denver minted coin. All proofs in 1959 were produced at the Philadelphia mint. Unfortunately, this coin is clearly harshly cleaned and polished, destroying its numismatic value.
That's what I was afraid of, but it seems strange that all five coins would would look like MS and be the correct, same year and enclosed in a sealed 5-coin slab? Isn't that a lot of trouble for a relatively low value deception? (The scratches are on the slab)
You can buy these "sealed" multi coin cases for proof and mint sets at most online coin supply shops. Most are only a couple of dollars.
The trick is, is to get it mint sealed..........Denver (Bob, or otherwise) don't do proofs for that year........
A full photo of the slabbed coins would tell us much. Sounds like someone grabbed circulated coins and put them in a slab they bought, meaning they are NOT Proof coins. BTW, Welcome to CT.
I see that they can't be proofs. The odd thing to me is, why do this? Here are some pics. The nickel is brighter than appears. I guess I can put the silver in my stack, put the .06 in my pocket, and go on about my business $15.36 to the good.
People did this for birthday sets by year. Sometimes the coins were from mixed mints. Most dealers would use the correct coins in the set.
That makes the most sense. The dip/polish would make it nice and shiny (and worthless except for spot value). "Happy birthday, kid! Here's some coins worth only their face or melt value, sealed up in a slab!"
These types of holders with an easily opened snap lock feature were more of the average person's answer to putting together these sets. Plus, they were readily available in most hobby sections of most stores. Dealers tended to lean towards the "Capitol" brand which came in varying colors, which would be nice for highlighting different colored coins like gold, copper and silver. These type holders were more secure in that they had plastic screws around the perimeter to safeguard the coin holder from accidentally opening and damage occurring to the coins.
Those holders used to cost 49 cents apiece at Woolworths' when I was a kid. I didn't like them because the coins rattled. Capital holders are much nicer. I had to move this 1953 Proof set to a Capital Plastics holder because the sleeves in the Proof set fell apart and the coins started to wonder around. That a sure way to get scratches and hairlines.
That’s an after market year set, probably for your birth year. All coins are from circulation and possibly some are polished. Welcome to CT.
This has been very helpful and enlightening. Thanks for the input and the 'welcome's! I have had a handful of numismatic coins of some value for years, that I inherited - a few silver dollars and half-dollars, such as a nice Morgan and a Peace dollar, and a Barber half-dollar, and some Walking Liberty half's. I recently started putting some resources into stacking, and it motivated me to start doing some research so I could go through the Constitutional silver I have been acquiring and pick out coins of numismatic value. I have found several such Walking Liberty's to pluck out, and have more to check. I got this slabbed set out to check it, as I had never really looked at it, and now I know what it is (and what it's not). Thanks again! If I could remember where it came from, I would keep it as a treasured keep-sake, but since it's heavily cleaned, I guess I'll just pop it open and put the silver in the stack and the .06 in the coin jar.
