Opinions on opening Mint/Proof Sets

Go for it.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

As an occasional buyer, I want to SEE what I'm buying. If the seller won't open them up, no sale. But no hard feelings either.

 

Cracked my first proof and mint sets this past weekend. I had extra 1980 and 1981 mint sets, and extra 1981 and 1982 proof sets. I wanted to see how nice an upgrade some of these would make for my circulated complete sets of nickels, dimes, quarters and halves. I was very happy with the results. Especially the quarters and nickels looked spectacular. Eventually I decided to do the same with my one and only 1987 mint set, so I could put the kennedy's in my binder. No regrets. I plan to buy some more for cracking, focusing on the decade of the 1980's for now.

 

419,721 silver proof sets were produced last year. Assuming that 1,000 proof sets are cracked open, lost for eternity, or destroyed each year, we should expect no sets left in 420 years with the exception of my set. Virtual me will be selling my set in 2434 for a boat load of bitcoin.

 

I have done it, I have cut up a many a set to get what I want out of it..

 

I suspect well over 1000 are broken up each year...

 

Heck I did 25 myself this year!!!

 

I wouldn't be too concerned with opening proof sets, especially the early 70s stuff. It is quite likely that you won't even be the first person to open any given set. I was at a coin shop once and watched the owner swapping out coins between sets. He just pushed the coins into the holder with his fingers.

As an aside, I bought three proof sets (1971, 1988, 1998) over the weekend at a local auction. They were in closed boxes, but I still buy them to look for varieties. Anyway, the store owner gives out a twenty dollar bill to a lucky drawing winner if he or she has at least three high bids. After subtracting out the 3 three dollars each that I paid for the proof sets , I ended up taking home home 11 bucks more than I arrived with.

 

It's your collection. Do what makes you happy. The pricing trends for mint/proof sets in general, is not good, so open 'em if you want.

 

I agree. I've opened them from the beginning to get what I want out of them. I have a few set aside, mostly the silver sets of state quarters and the silver proof sets of the National Park quarters, but for the rest of them... the government packaging ends up in the trash in the garage.

 

I have probably cracked 100+ mint/proof sets from 1965+ this year to work on my Danscos. I have no regrets as I LOVE looking through the albums.

 

It is key to remember that although the mint stopped producing the uncirculated mint sets with the Satin Finish in 2010, it does state that the coins in the uncirculated sets are still being produced differently from regular business strikes (extra pressure, better details). It doesn't seem fair to break one of those and include those coins in 'business strike' sets. They really should still be considered a separate class of coins.

 

I disagree because the added enhancements to mint set coins since 1968 can't be differentiated from run of the mill coins. Even regular strikes sometimes are nearly perfect and come from new dies. Sometimes these even get out of the mint without being banged up. So why should collectors see them as distinct from the regular strikes.

I've sought superb coins from circulation since 1972. Sometimes they just aren't available and you have little choice but to usae the mint set coins for your collection. Most people would be surprised just how regular issues survive in pristine condition from 40 years ago or even 20 or 10 years ago.

 

What does that mean anyway??