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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;illini420, post: 1187769, member: 19423&quot;]Back then proofs didn&#039;t come in fancy holder or even encased in plastic.&nbsp; You could either buy them from the Mint in person or have them mailed to you.&nbsp; In either case, the coins were simply wrapped in tissue.&nbsp; This tissue is what cased the awesome toning you see on many early proof coins, including matte proof Lincolns.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Back then you had a few options for buying U.S. proof coins.&nbsp; You could get the matte proofs in what was called a &quot;minor proof set&quot; which came with just a penny and a nickel (the non-silver coins).&nbsp; No limits on ordering them back then, but based on the mintages apparently they weren&#039;t too popular.&nbsp; The earlier minor sets were 8 cents each plus postage (only a 2 cent premium over face!!!).&nbsp; At some point the cost increased to 12 cents per minor set plus postage (around 1912/1913 I think).&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>You could also order sets of the silver coins.&nbsp; And the proof gold coins could be ordered in sets or individually. Not much premium over face value was required for the silver or gold coins either, but back then, even a few dollars over face was quite a bit of money.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In 1909, to get all of the proofs you would have had to order 3 minor sets during the year.&nbsp; One to get the 1909 proof IHC, one to get the 1909 VDB matte proof and one to get the 1909 (non-VDB) proof.&nbsp; I don&#039;t think the Mint sold sets that included multiple cents, but I imagine collectors could have purchased them all at the time upon request.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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