Most of my moderns I have by virtue of a mint set. For those years where the mint produced the unc sets with a satin finish, I'm thinking of getting the business strikes as well. Seems like CRH is my best bet to get these, but seems like the grades will be relatively poor. Has anyone had any luck finding MS or near MS quality coins from that period?
Business strikes of Cents, Nickels, Dimes, and most Quarters should be easy enough to find (outside of the more scarce 2009 Nickels and Dimes). The Kennedy coins were not made at all for circulation in those years, so your best bet would be to get them from US Mint rolls (although a few do manage to get into circulation). The Dollar coins should also be mostly attainable from CRH.
Someone once found a 2003 Lincoln Cent that ended up grading PCGS MS70 RED that went for $13500 at an auction.
You can still pull out high grades even from latter year, im putting together and MS 64+ set of nickels from 1939-1962 and have found 2/3 of them already, you can pull out high grade coins if you look long enough, it just might take you a long time of going through them to find ones your happy with, you can find some high grade half dollars from time to time, i have put together a set of 2002-2014 from curculation, you just might have a hard time with the newest year and the 2009 nickels, I have a few rolls of the 2009 dimes but have only found 1-2 2009 nickels in over $20,000 this past year.
OP, If you want high grade BS coins, just buy them. The cost will be minimal, especially when compared to the time invested/wasted searching rolls unless you're already doing so for other reasons.
where do I buy them? Seems easier said that done. Folks on ebay are charging stupid prices for that stuff.
Trying a B&M would seem an obvious option. I'm not sure exactly what you consider "stupid prices", but ask yourself what your time is worth. Again, unless you're already searching (in which case there's no reason not to try), and unless you've unlimited free time to waste, does it really make sense, especially after all associated costs are considered/factored in, to take this route in the hopes of maybe saving minimal money? You're the only one who can answer the question, but for someone who values their free time or would rather invest it into wiser endeavors, the answer seems obvious.
Check out the ads in Coin World and call several dealers selling modern coins. Give them a list of what you want and ask for the bulk price
