Hi y'all! I don't know if I'm having a good observation but it seems that older mint sets (specially from Canada) are in ... relatively bad state! For example, I just received my mint set 1965... sealed in a Royal Canadian Mint plastic... and well.. the nickel coins look great, but the 1¢ looks dirty!!! Why is that so? I had a lil bit earlier this month another set about that old and the coins were also not looking very clean... :whistle: Is the same thing happening to USA mint sets? It that that the old plastic they used had PVC in it? Should I store them in something else ASAP? I'm asking all this because... IMHO, mint sets should look MS-something! Not just Extremely Fine........ I'll add pictures if you request so. Thanks for any advice!!! I'm a bid taken aback by this. Max
Wow.. it's night and there's no natural light... It's almost like we don't see a thing, but well this is an example... Look at the green dot between the N and the 5.. There's also one between the little K and the G... There are other coins having a little of greenishhh.. but I'll try to take a better picture tomorrow when it's sunny outside... Max http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/3417/hpim1647rp7.jpg
My guess would be that moisture has infiltrated the package - possibly by condensation. It looks as if verdigris may be starting. If it is - I'd look for a new set.
Max, I don't believe the plioform used by the RCM contains PVC. I have quite a few sets from the era and toned coins are the exception, but in most cases it's due to poor storage where the plastic is torn, crimped or otherwise compromised to the point where there is no longer a complete seal from the elements. I see you are in Canada. Do take the opportunity to visit a local dealer. Chances are they will have a selection of sets for you to eyeball up close before you make a purchase decision.
We have a similar problem with a lot of the New Zealand sets from the 1965 right up to the 1969 as well.A lot of dealers still stock them,even though the plastic is effectively stuffed. Aidan.
Don't think RCM is using PVC either... it's just not airtight although And yes, I'd like to go to a dealer.. but in my little city there are none.. my main source of information (and coins) is the internet... But as soon as I get an opportunity to visit one, I'll do. Thanks Max
Yeah, this is the same problem. That's why I was asking if I was better put them in airtites... But breaking the original package is never fun... Max
It seems people have been counting on the existence of mint sets to assure the existence of modern coins into the indefinite future but these sets are so incredibly cheap that few survive and nearly half of moderns simply never appeared in mint sets. Even those which are available can be utterly destroyed by the mint set packaging. Try to find a 1968-P US cent in a mint set without carbon spots. They're all spotted and more than 95% look awful because of it. The mint set packing is usually four layers of plastic bonded together and the inner layers are soft.
Never one to shrink from a challenge,I pulled out the '68 set and took pics of all three cents in it.This was one of those strange years that they decided to include a San Francisco cent in the set. Looks to me like the S has definite carbon spots while the Philly and Denver are clean.Of course these are just the obverses.:eating:
You got one of the 5% that don't look awful. If you take a close look at the Philly cent there will be small carbon spots on the obverse or reverse. About one set in 800 will have a cent that is clean on one side. It's not impossible that sets exist with this coin clean but the odds seem against it.
Actually, I had noticed the opposite about early 60's Canadian mint sets. About a year or 2 ago, at a point where silver jumped from about $8 to $12 (or something like that) I noticed a local coin dealer (a larger one) was selling mint sets at less than melt value! So I bought a few of each year (1963 - 1967) more for silver than anything. BUT I noticed at least half the coins all had a light - mid cameo. And they were all in perfect shape. If I think of it later, I'll add some scan of the 1¢ coins from these sets, so you can compare.
I collect African coins and most South African mint sets of 1970-1980 were issued in plastic which made copper coins tarnished. Therefore I chose to open such sets, selecting UNC coins from several sets and composing one for collection, storing these coins in Mylar holders.
