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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cladking, post: 15945, member: 68&quot;]I really have nothing against the original holders and packaging for modern coins.&nbsp; Most are quite adequate for storage and even those which aren&#039;t may be more of a problem caused by the condition of the coins that went in them than it is a problem with the packaging itself.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The coins still in the packaging has long represented &quot;raw material&quot; for modern collectors rather than a collectible itself.&nbsp; These are being collected now and likely make a great collectible but in the past they were mostly purchased from the mint as much more a speculation than as a collectible.&nbsp; If a buyer missed a year he didn&#039;t normally go onto the market to find that particular date.&nbsp; For the main part these were amassed rather than collected.&nbsp; Over the years these sets have suffered horrible attrition because they were so unappreciated.&nbsp; They have been cut up and the contents spent to recoup the face value of the coins within, they have been destroyed in fires and floods, they have been dismantled to make the denominational sets that most collectors desire, and they have simply withered away as they are sold off to anyone with a couple dollars.&nbsp; Today their days appear to be numbered. Many of the original purchasers have long since sold their sets for whatever they could get.&nbsp; Generally these sets were sold on a market where everything else was more important and he sets simply gathered dust in inventory until they were sold to a wholesalers and destroyed or the dealer destroyed them himself.&nbsp; Collectors of sets are starting to drain off significant numbers just at a time that the hobby is beginning to recognize that the sets are the prime source for many moderns and the sole source for some gems.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>While the rate at which mint sets is being destroyed has probably dropped in recent years, it is only because the sets are getting more difficult to find.&nbsp; The percentage of remaining sets being destroyed is probably increasing pretty dramatically.&nbsp; There are increasing numbers of ads for modern singles and sets and this would seem to imply increased demand.&nbsp; Prices for the sets and singles have been somewhat subdued for some months now but this is probably caused by the fact that more people are catching on to the fact that some of these sets contain very valuable coins.&nbsp; This brings sets out of storage for inspection and slabbing of gems and likely results in increased supplies by the remaining sets being offered on the market.&nbsp; These markets are still very small relative to the original mintages of the sets, so a little increase simply swamped the demand.&nbsp; The logical question though is when these sets now get mopped up, where will supply come from in the future?&nbsp; It would seem that the answer is that we&#039;ll mostly have to get by on the coins that have already been removed from these sets.&nbsp; This means the coins that went into circulation and the coins that have been sold on the Home Shopping Network to outsiders of the hobby.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Lest anyone still feel that I don&#039;t like the original packaging simply because I bad mouth it frequently, I do keep the finest sets I&#039;ve found over the years intact.&nbsp; Sets containing all gem coins tend to be far more common than mere chance would dictate.&nbsp; While a few dates are very tough in all gem, most will have as much as 1% of mintage with all coins being gem.&nbsp; The same applies to proof sets.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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