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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cladking, post: 962000, member: 68&quot;]It&#039;s not so much that the sets out there are bad as it is that when these sets were made most of them are quite mediocre.&nbsp; In this case &quot;mediocre&quot; really isn&#039;t bad most of the time.&nbsp; The mint set coins are usually far superior to the roll coins so even a typical set tends to be a decent bet for a serviceable coin.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>But only about one mint set in three will contain even a single gem coin.&nbsp; One in ten will have nice choice coins with a gem or two.&nbsp; One in a hundred will have all gem or near gem prior to 1980.&nbsp; After 1979 gemmy sets get much less common.&nbsp; I believe this is because they started packaging with machines and the human touch was lost.&nbsp; Gem sets become no more common than their probaility would indicate and in many cases this might mean there are no all gem sets.&nbsp; &#039;92-D stands out as one of the worst.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Additionally there is a problem with spotting and tarnish.&nbsp; This primarily affects the older sets but the &#039;84-D is getting pretty bad because of the penny.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Lastly there&#039;s a problem with cherry picking.&nbsp; This isn&#039;t nearly as big a problem as some people think because there is a steady flow of fresh sets onto the market by the original purchasers and a steady drain of picked over sets by the wholesalers who cut them up to assemble rolls and denominational sets.&nbsp; Mint sets are the source of almost all BU singles being sold and have been since the mid-&#039;70&#039;s.&nbsp; But there is enough demand and enough lingering supply of some sets that the picked over sets accumulate on the market a little.&nbsp; Don&#039;t expect to open a dealer&#039;s SMS and find a cameo.&nbsp; These were scarce even back in 1967 and two generations of cherry pickers haven&#039;t made them any more common.&nbsp; Don&#039;t expect to find either a gem kennedy or a small date cent in a &#039;70 set.&nbsp; These are picked over pretty quickly.&nbsp; For the main part the gem Ikes are going to be a big rarity.&nbsp; Of course gem Ikes have always been a big rarity but now even the near gems and choice specimens are getting picked out.&nbsp; Forget a gem unless you have a fresh bunch of sets.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Later sets aren&#039;t as bad but any set with a large premium is far more likely to be cherry picked than sets with discounts since premium sets aren&#039;t destroyed in large batches by wholesalers. </p><p><br /></p><p>The &#039;81 set is very high mintage but one of the more &quot;fun&quot; sets since there are so many interesting coins in it.&nbsp; The S dollar is a killer with only about 3% of sets having a choice coin with near gems and gems being scarce.&nbsp; The Philly quarter will make you tear your hair out since only a few have nice smooth surfaces and most of these are scratched up.&nbsp; The Denver half comes nice but is tough.&nbsp; The type &quot;d&quot; quarter even can have a PL reverse.&nbsp; The cents have a small tarnish problem.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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