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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cladking, post: 24648943, member: 68&quot;]I would estimate that about 10% of the F and better pre-1980 quarters are mint set coins.&nbsp; This is based on things like the quality of the coins and their strikes but also some markers.&nbsp; About 1% of the &#039;72 to &#039;79 quarters in mint sets have mint set crimping damage.&nbsp; This might cause bad estimates because a far higher percentage of coins with this damage go into circulation than pristine coins or typical coins.&nbsp; Then in circulation they are more likely to be removed because they have such unusual marking.&nbsp; There are also varieties that show up almost exclusively in mint sets.&nbsp; SMS coins can retain their appearance down to VF sometimes.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Many of the old worn out coins are mint set also but they get harder and harder to spot as the coins get thinner and detail is lost.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>More than half the pre-84 mint set quarters were placed into circulation over the years but these suffer the same natural attrition that the other quarters do which is a little more than 3% annually.&nbsp; Because they are typically higher grade because they&#039;ve spent less time in circulation they also suffer a little more attrition by collectors putting them into collections.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>You ask a very complex question that varies by date because the rate at which specific mint sets are destroyed varies wildly.&nbsp; The odds of specific coins from these sets being circulated varies wildly as well.&nbsp; The data needed to answer such questions are generally unavailable or are largely a matter of speculation.&nbsp; 25 to 30 million of the older quarters from mint sets have entered circulation and probably about 15,000,000 are still there.&nbsp; These are mixed in with some 70 billion quarters intended for circulation.&nbsp; The odds of any given quarter chosen at random to be a mint set coin is pretty low but the odds of a well struck, high grade for the date, and attractive coin to be a mint set coin is much greater.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Today, if you find a very high grade (XF+ or better) quarter from before 1978 there is a very high probability it originated on a mint set press.&nbsp; This probably approaches 30% for most dates.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>There were some pretty bad coins with very mediocre strikes made for mint sets from new dies under higher tonnage and these coins are more likely to go into circulation than is a superb Gem.&nbsp; Very large numbers of mint sets have been destroyed by many different causes.&nbsp; When any of the coins survive such misadventure they are likely to be spent.&nbsp; Many of the mint set coins that get into circulation are distributed from the tills of coin shops.&nbsp; Dealers spice up the change they pass out with things like wheaties, dateless buffalos, and mint set coins.&nbsp; Dealers have been cutting up mint sets and distributing the coins for decades.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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