proof set unopened

How much of a premium should proof sets with the manila envelope sealed have over an opened set?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

i wouldnt pay a premium for it, id rather see what im getting unless i were looking for errors. im sure some people are willling to pay a premium however.

 

it just seems logical that there should be a premium though.

 

Not to me - envelopes are too easy to open and reseal - especially if they were opened years ago

 

i know what you are saying ccmintt and im sure some collectors are willing to pay a premium for them im just not one of those collectors lol

 

Are you buying or selling?
If buying, not worth it.
If selling, hype for the best price.

 

Neither. It was just a hypothetical question. Also, when did the mint abandon the manila envelopes?

 

I have, and would happily again, pay a premium for an unopened mint or proof set of certain years, for exactly the reason cciesielski01 suggested..errors or varieties. Most recently, I paid about a 10% premium for some unopened '64 proof sets, in search of an AH Kennedy.

Beyond that, like the others, opened or unopened proof set is of no difference to me.

 

There's no such animal as an unopened proof set unless we're talkin' pre-pilofilm days and they're suspect too. The sets in the brown manila envelopes came from the mint unsealed. If they're sealed today it's because they were stored in an high humidity environment or somebody purposely wet the glue on the envelope.

 

Sealed or not I think the most important aspect are the coins itself. There are some coins in the packaging that looks really bad. Then there are always some that are nicely toned.

 

That is correct. the original brown / manilla envelopes were never sealed by the mint. "sealed" on older sets usually is hype and actually means that it's still in the original cellophane. and going further back to the boxes, there were a LOT of 1951 and 1955 box sets that were opened and resealed, so many that it is noted. Looking for things like 1955 double die or other errors and varieties (as already stated) or even swapping out inferior coins such as circulated business strikes. Just wanted to add that there was a LOT of that done.
Moving up to much more modern sets that are shipped in individual cardboard boxes. There are some sets sold as 'still in the box' unopened. That is not of any value at all unless there is a known variety or error, such as a "no S" coin known for that year. Even then, why pay a premium for an unlikely maybe You will wind up with a lot of standard sets that you paid too much for. If you want the error set, pay for one and get a sure thing, or just pay a fair price for a known standard set.
"unopened" and "unsearched" are not value added, they are caution lights.

 

Well, I never knew the mint didn't seal them. Did they at least tuck the flap in?

 

The brown envelopes for the silver proof sets were selling for around $3 on eBay. Seriously I doubt anyone would even buy a sealed brown envelope. They would want to be sure there were the coins inside it.

But I know a guy who bought a new TV off the back of a truck, and when he got it home the box was full of rocks and junk. So maybe there are people who would buy a coin set without verifying it's contents ? But most collectors would want proof of the coins. We are not envelope collectors, mostly.

And without demand, there ain't gonna be much premium, IMHO

gary

 

That happened to my uncle 35 or 40 years ago. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

 

Some years back you could buy new envelopes for proof sets. You probably still can. Folks were making up large groups of sealed 64 proof sets to sell on ebay. Those looking for the AH half were all over it.

 

$0.00

Since those were not sealed by the Mint when they were shipped out. If they are sealed today, it is more likely than not they were sealed recently on purpose, or humidity softened the glue on the envelope enough to have sealed that way.

 

1964.

1965, they used a white envelope.

1966 the Mint came out with the plastic lenses and have been using those ever since for the proof sets.

 

Learn something new every day. Thanks, guys!

 

So when were the boxes used?

 

1950-1955. I'm not sure about the '36-'42 proofs