Hi folks. I recently purchased this at auction advertised as a 1960 6-coin Canadian Mint set. I don't know a great deal about Canadian coinage, but I got it way below melt so I bought it on a whim. From what I've been able to learn, Canadian mint sets of the time came in a white, cardboard holder labeled with the RCM info stamped on it. This set is in a black, cardboard holder with clear, plastic windows. One end has the old style, cellophane tape on it which has yellowed with time, but it still seems to be sealed. The coins seem to be uncirculated. They have a lot of detail and I couldn't see any signs of wear. I have not been able to find any definitive grading info online that would help me assign a grade to each of them. Everything I found seems to be rather general in nature. The silver coins all have various amounts of blue toning on them. They also have an odd, spiderweb looking pattern that has aged onto the obverse surfaces. This pattern is not repeated on the reverses. My questions: 1. Were all 1960 Canada mint sets "proof-like" back in the day? 2. Any idea what caused the odd spiderweb looking pattern on the silver coins? Is this something natural that happens over time, or did the holder have something to do with this? 3. Do you think these coins appear uncirculated? 4. What do you think the set is worth? Melt is about $30 US in silver. Thank you in advance with any input you might have. Like I said, I usually purchase only US coins, but this was an incredible deal I bought for re-sale.
Canada produced Specimen sets, and the packaging is not original. I collect 1960 specimen sets (almost always listed as proof sets when for sale) there were three distinct printing styles for the RCM lettering on the cardboard. Charltons catelogue has a good description of the lettering styles.
