I have an interest in collecting ultra cameo coins of the pre-1964 era. I know that many of you (Doug especially) have gone through dozens if not hundreds of 1960s era proof sets. Am I still likely to find coins like these in sets? Or are they mostly culled already? I know that searching them can be a fun pursuit and can yield some of these gems at a very low price, but I guess what I'm asking is: Will it be worth my time?
Mike the best I can tell you is this - I spent years and years searching those sets and rarely did I ever find any sets that even had 1 cameo coin in them. And it was not unusual for me to search through 500-1000 sets at a single coin show. I used to attend, on average, 6 to 8 shows a year. That of course does not include all the searching I did on-line, with private collectors, trusted dealers, and the use of extensive want lists. And I quit searching in 2002. I can only logically assume that it has gotten even worse since then. That said, the thing about the coin hobby is that you never know when sets that have been held in collections for decades might suddenly appear on the market due to collectors selling off their collections or a death. But then when you consider the mintage numbers for these sets, consider that the mint could have cared less about the coins having the cameo until 1973 and later, and consider the numbers of these sets that have been broken up over the years - well, you get the idea. But I will say this, IF I was still collecting these original sets, yeah I'd still be looking
I am not looking for a cameo set per se. For example, I am looking specifically in the 1962 sets for a cent and a nickel. I am wondering if it is just better to buy a certified coin and be done with it or search for one myself. The problem is not identifying the coin but rather finding one at all. many of the sets that were searched were searched for halves and probably cents. The dimes may be an easy find. I am hoping that the nickel and the cent would be so as well.
I found a beautiful cameo Lincoln cent in the first 1956 and 1964 sets I looked at. Of course, that was back in the '80s when the big push was on proof halves, and the other coins were largely ignored.
yeah, Collector1966, I think Doug's right and it's too late. I appreciate it. I'll buy the coins that I want and look at sets to see if anything is still there that I can cherrypick.
