I am starting to collect proof sets! I have a 64 proof set, I'm trying to get the purple years 84-93 proof sets, I need 3 of them to complete set. any ideas of good years to collect?
I bought the 1979 & then the 1987 years cause that was when my kids were born. Once I looked at them i went nuts and went for a 1959-present proof and mint set collection and I have it!!!!!:hail:
I like the '57 proof set. For about $30, you get a proof example of the Lincoln wheat cent as well as all the classic silver coinage of the day, including the Franklin half. I bought the '81 set because that's the year I was born....That also represents the last year of the 1970s-generation dollar coin era. Good luck, and happy 2010!
I actually owe my Godfather part of my numismatic interests. On my tenth birthday he bought my birthyear (1975) proof set. It fueled my interests in coin collecting in general, but I haven't collected proof sets until very recently. I have a thing for the silver proof sets.
I like the pre-'65 silver proof sets and I feel that they are fairly inexpensive for what you are getting. That's a subjective opinion of course but they really haven't kept up with inflation vis-a-vis their original cost. IMO again. Some of the newer silver proof sets are difficult to understand. Why is the 1999 so much higher ( and seemingly trending downward) than the 2000? Are the mintages really that significantly different? And the '01 vs. '02, does that make sense? Almost identical mintages and wildly different prices. ----- For $20 or less you can get the 60's, a tad more and you can get the late 50's. A skosh more gets you middle fifties, and then things get interesting if you crawl back to the early 50's. But hey, that's the fun isn't it? Find something you love and do it. They are gorgeous coins, and not not just some fancy over-packaging.
I only use the proof sets to get my kids interested in coin collecting. I bought one for each year of their lives until they reach 18 years old. If they don't buy the 19th set, I assume that they are not interested in coins and they are out of the running to inherit my entire collection minus their proof sets of course. None of them have reached 18 yet but my oldest is 16 next week. I do have older proof sets and mint sets but not all years. I guess that will give them something to collect.
