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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cladking, post: 836214, member: 68&quot;]My statement;</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I didn&#039;t mean this to be misleading and apologize for any confusion it might have created.&nbsp; It&#039;s very difficult to describe in mere words something so complicated as the many different processes used to produce mint set coins and the nearly as great number used to strike regular issues.&nbsp; It&#039;s more complicated as these variable processes change over the years.&nbsp; There is nearly 100% overlap in the processes used for striking each type each year though there is far less variability in those used for striking circulation issues.&nbsp; Strike pressure for instance is a function of how far apart the dies are set.&nbsp; If a technician is installing a die on a quad press he might run off a couple examples before realizing the dies are too close.&nbsp; Presto! there are two coins struck under higher pressure.&nbsp; The press isn&#039;t always run at exactly the same speed and takes some time to get to full speed.&nbsp; Just about anything that happens to most mint set coins&nbsp; can and does happen to regular issues.&nbsp; But these regular issues will be exceedingly rare Even in the year of issue and only a very tiny percentage were set aside. I probably don&#039;t have half a dozen coins that were made for circulation and exhibit some unusual process in striking or die work.&nbsp; How many people besides me saved such coins.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>There were remarkably nice coins made for circulation.&nbsp; These tended to be real flukes and very few were saved.&nbsp; These I&#039;ve got lots of because I expended a lot of effort to seek them out.&nbsp; Some of these coins are almost indistinguishable from mint set coins.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>When the vast majority of mint set coins are removed from the set it simply becomes impossible to state with any degree of certainty that the coin isn&#039;t a fluke that was made for circulation.&nbsp; But collectors know the difference between a mint set coin and a typical made for circulation coin with near perfect accuracy.&nbsp; For some dates these differences are more subtle and circulation issues come nicer.&nbsp; Other dates the differences are much more apparent.&nbsp; But for all dates these differences can&#039;t be proven unless they are a variety or there&#039;s some other special way to differentiate them.&nbsp; For instance; all coins with mint set crimping damage are mint set coins.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>At the risk of muddying the waters further, I have seen a&nbsp; very very few coins in mint sets that I don&#039;t believe were made for mint sets.&nbsp; There&#039;s a &quot;lot&quot; of horse play with all the mint operations and it appears that once in a while someone slips in a non-mint set coin into one.&nbsp; I&#039;ve seen a few mint sets that look like someone sat there for a while saving up all the ugliest coins to put all in a single set.&nbsp; A very large number of sets look like someone saved up really nice coins.&nbsp; By very large I mean something on the order of one set in a thousand.&nbsp; I&#039;ve got a 1968 Denver set that has all stunning PL&#039;s in it.&nbsp; It looks like a branch mint proof set.&nbsp; I put a stunning Philly set with it that pretty spectacular in its own right.&nbsp; But the odds of getting five knock out PL&#039;s in a single package is nearly impossible.&nbsp; I have to believe this set had help just like my help in pairing it with a spectacular Philly set. </p><p><br /></p><p>To prove the point there is in existence a 1968 proof set with a die cap half dollar in it.&nbsp; These are planchets which adhere to the top (obverse) die and continue to strike blank planchets.&nbsp; The pressure forces the metal of the stuck coin to wrap around the die and take on the shape of a bowl.&nbsp; It was removed and hammered into a proof capsule and the capsule forced into a sleeve and mailed to a customer.&nbsp; It&#039;s unlikely this was done by someone who didn&#039;t know better or wanted to embarrass the mint.&nbsp; It was just a gag.&nbsp; I think it&#039;s pretty funny.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>A lot of this discussion is really acedemic anyway because there just aren&#039;t any circulation issues to worry about.&nbsp; This is a little hyperbole but it&#039;s a fact that a lot of the clad rolls are virtually unavailable.&nbsp; The vast majority of all 1969 quarters are from mint sets because people didn&#039;t save these coins.&nbsp; Until just a few years ago if a person happened to take his dad&#039;s coins into a coin shop to sell the dealer would have told him to just spend a roll of 1969 quarters.&nbsp; So the attrition on the few saved was astronomical.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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