1950 Proof Set

This is my first actual post, so here goes!

I just got this for my birthday from my 99-year-old mother - my birth year proof set.

The set is not graded. I have some detailed pictures but they aren't great! They're my first attempts at coin photography. They are dark because they are picking up a black reflection from the camera.

Is there enough here to attempt a guess at grades?
And, what do you think about values!

Thanks

 

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From those photos the coins do not look like proof at all. Nickel and cent - possibly, but not others.

 

Welcome! Great pictures for your first attempt. Are you sure they are proof? The cent and nickel might be. The others are questionable.

 

They all look proof to me.

The set was mildly abused.

 

I don't know how I would be sure. The set was bought in person from a trusted dealer she has known for years. The first photo is better for showing the mirror surfaces. Since the mint had not made proofs for 8 years that may be a factor, too.

 

A lovely gift regardless of grade.

 

Coin World price chart puts a $525-$550 range on a 1950 proof set. Apparently no official Mint sets were issued that year. On EBay many of the offerings, most of them in plastic holders, bounce around that range. A seller is offering one set graded and slabbed individually for around $1,400. Another claims to have one unopened in its mailing box for $950.

 

Yep, quarter is proof.

 

My pictures may be at fault, too. The plastic cover was removed, and the black plastic holder was stood up on its bottom edge. A window was at 90 degrees to the right when facing the holder, so they got raking light glancing across the coins. This shows marks and texture to disadvantage. The first image shows what you see in hand.

 

I believe they are all proof. Nice set. The cent and nickel appear proof, and the quarter has the proof artwork. Look at the quarter reverse, it is the B reverse, which was proof only in 1950.

 

Cool! I did not know that! Something new I can learn about.

 

Examining the first picture, they look to be proof to me. What a nice gift!

 

For sure nice set. But where did you get this info?

 

I assume he was referring to the fact that the last official proof sets were made in 1942 and then only returned in 1950 (so technically 7 full years of no official proof sets).

 

Proof 1950 Franklin half is $350 & up to big bucks depending on higher grades.

 

Correct. I looked around the web and found a few places with that information. I also read that the early 1950 proofs were not as brilliant as the buyers wanted. The mint then repolished the dies so subsequent issues were more mirrored, at a loss of a small degree of low-relief detail that was also polished away. I did not save the links, sorry! But it was easy to find.

 

I have a slabbed set of Franklins except for the 1950 & 1951.

See if this link works

 

Agreed. It gave us a chance to get together over facetime and share some very nice conversation and look at the photos. So this was a very nice gift that enabled a nice family moment. And isn't sharing a cornerstone of this hobby?

 

Looking at individual prices for slabbed 1950 proofs, the Franklin is definitely the big ticket item.