Are proof sets worth investing in?

I paid $70 total today for these proof sets:

1986 Prestige Proof Set / 7 coin
1996 Mint (Green) / 5 coin
1994 Silver Proof / 5 coin
2nd 1994 Silver Proof / 5 coin


For all I know, I overpaid by $50!! I guess I just got carried away by their prettiness. My question is whether proof sets increase in value as a general rule. Are there financial benefits to purchasing these?

 

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Personally I would stay away from proof sets right now. Unless you are buying them for melt or lower for the silver sets. Most coin dealers are only paying half to 60% of sheet on these right now. The market is flooded with them. Older flat pack sets are better in my opinion if you are going to put some away but still atleast try to buy them at sheet price.

i wouldn't call collecting coins investing, personally I wouldn't invest in coins. Collect coins because you like them not because you want to invest.

 

From my limited experience, unless the coins are made out of precious metals <=1964 mint sets, the value only depreciates.
If you look at a 1989 mint proof for example it sells for about $7.50 however a 1995 can go for about $11

 

+1

 

Personally i only buy proof sets because i just love how they look. Although i will try and buy them for the cheapest price i can get it from since i am not that desperate to get them as i would for lets say Half dollars. Either way if you are interested in selling your 1994 Silver proof sets i will be gladly to buy em off you.

 

Here comes the i-word. If you want to "invest" in coins, there are two schools of thought.

1) Bullion. Having some gold and silver bullion as part of your overall investments is not a bad idea. Along with stocks, bonds, real estate etc. Metals can be an hedge against inflation and the drop in value of US Dollars. If you want to take the coin route, pay as little over spot (or at spot or below if possible). You can buy plenty of silver or gold rounds close to spot price. Never pay well over spot if you just want bullion pieces.

2) Rare and Key Dates. Rare and key date coins may appreciate in the future. There are often collectors and/or investors in the market certain rare coins. Prices rise and fall over time and can do so quickly. Before buying rare coins, do your homework. Don’t over pay.
Proof sets can be fun to collect. But that’s about all they are. Collector items, not investment worthy materials. But if you like to collect them, there’s nothing wrong with that.

 

Investing? No. Buying because the look awsome? yes.
Just got a 1968 for $3.25 cuz i traded something in. And the half is at least PF68. And is worth $3.50

 

I'm a newbie and I've been hoarding them... (for between bid and ask) Nearly everytime I go to a coinshop there is a guy in the back cutting them open. Maybe they'll be less around in 20 years... again... I'm the newb...

 

kevinfred, they have been cutting out the silver in proof sets for years now!! Yes the mintages are no where near what everyone thinks they are. In 1980s during the hunt bros. silver run Im sure many sets got melted!! now modern silver proof sets are the ones getting melted except Im sure the 1999 and 2001 sets were saved and hopefully the 2009 set which in my opinion is a sleeper.

 

I have a plethora of mint and proof sets. I get them at auctions and they have come down in price over the past few years. I think that you did ok at $70. Based on my estimates, you have $78 in market value. If you break out the 94 half dollars from the two silver proof set, you can probably get $20 just for that coin. Here are my thoughts on your purchase:

1986 Prestige Proof Set / 7 coin $26.00
1996 Mint (Green) / 5 coin $12.00
1994 Silver Proof / 5 coin $20.00
2nd 1994 Silver Proof / 5 coin $20.00




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Thank you Phil; thank you everyone. Maybe I can sell them on Ebay in a few months and try to get most of my $70 back. I'm not worried about the $70 per se, but am new to this and don't want to keep acting impulsively like that. (They were just so pretty!)

I'd rather research it and purchase an item that is much more likely to gain in value over time. Thank you again everyone. A lesson learned...

 

I've been collecting for nearly 20 years and second all those here that say you A) shouldn't invest in modern proof sets and B) shouldn't invest in coins.

If you like those proof sets, then great. But otherwise, I wouldn't look to proof sets for investing. In all honesty, there are only two proof sets I wish I had "invested" in: the 1999-S silver 9-coin set and 2001-S silver set. I could've bought these sets for around $35 at the time straight from the mint, but chose to go with the 5-coin quarter sets only because that was what I could afford at the time -- and I was perfectly content with my 5 clad 50 States Quarters.

To be frank, I never understood why those two sets have gone gangbusters, but they did -- plenty of other sets have had lower intages in recent years and nosedived in price. Even the 1995-S proof set has come down in recent years. There's no reason why the '99-S and '01-S won't eventually sink in value, either.

The best story I can relate this to is the 1973-S 40% silver proof Eisenhower. It was perceived as "rare" at one point and people snapped it up left and right. If I had the money and the ability, I would have had to lay out over $150 (nearly $350 today) as an infant to buy one. But look at what has happened to the value of that piece over the last nearly 30 years.

The key point here? Modern coins (and proof sets) CAN and DO increase in value, but in most cases there simply are too many of them on the market and, thus, prices -- if they do go up initially after sale from the mint -- eventually stagnate or come down on moderns.

 

I will have to respectfully disagree with some of my esteemed colleagues. I think that it is hard to go wrong with proof and mint sets that can sell for a couple dollars over face value at auctions or ebay. Although I don't personally do it, you can often break the sets and make another 20-50% by selling mint or proof state coins. Take a look at ebay. You can often buy a silver proof set for less than the half dollar in the set. It really doesn't make much sense to me. You can also buy an 1987 mint set for less than buying the two Kennedy's. Again, how does that make sense?

 

that's what I thought... ebay is the strangest thing ever...

 

coins are not worth investing in.

They are collectibles that may or may not increase in value.

 

"Are proof sets worth investing in? "

No. They are a terrible investment -- and have a record of being such since the 60's. That is unlikely to change.

If you MUST invest in some type of coin, pick silver or gold, and buy coins for as close to spot price as you can.

 

Investing probably not. Collecting Totally .

 

You're missing the point. We're buying them for nearly face value. We like them. It is a collector thing and an investor thing.

 

Buying proof sets is necessary to me when I want to Upgrade coins. If I see a Deep Cameo Pf70 potential set, I will buy it. For instance, the 1999 proof set can be had for 20 bucks. The coins, once graded as Pf70, can command over 100 dollars for the quarters alone. So getting some low pop high grades is worth it at the ridiculous prices being quoted. You can put whole new sets together for squat. Later, the complete proof State quarter set in Pf70 will be crisp.

 

I am new to buying proof sets. I purchased (10) 1964 unopened proof sets @$25.00 each, should I open them looking for accented hair or high grade coins or leave them sealed because there is no chance to find acc/ hair coins in these Philadelphia proof sets?