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 Replies: 27 / Views: 4,470 |
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Valued Member
United States
180 Posts |
I would also suggest that in addition to cost simple demographics are also in play. We lose more and more of our seniors/baby boomers everyday and the younger generation has constantly shown no interest in their parents or grandparents hobbies.
I shouldn't say all young people, but enough to cause concerns for several recreational industries, civic groups, and hobby associations.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
613 Posts |
I still say more coin, less packaging
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10038 Posts |
Agreed with everyone here the price is not worth it. To me the only set worth getting nowadays is the silver proof set.
Back when I was a kid, the prices on mint sets, etc. were considered a little high, but not bad. Now everything from the mint seems overpriced and with a lot more hype. The coins in most of these sets will only lose value anyway as time passes.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12839 Posts |
Even the silver proof set is expensive, if you do the math.
For the 2016 set, it's $52.95 for:
o $5.91 face (nearly 9x face)
o 13 coins. That's roughly $4/coin.
o Approx 1.5 oz of silver, which ends up being $35/oz. Compare that to current silver spot: $18.86/oz.
Personally the cost analysis doesn't bother me as I'm not in it to make money. These are things I collect and don't ever intend to sell. Also I understand the Mint has to pay salaries & overhead and turn a profit.
It will be interesting to see the price of the set next year when there is only one $1 coin (10 coins total) and a face value of $2.91, albeit with the same silver content.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1027 Posts |
The price of the annual uncirculated set certainly has gone up over the years. 2003: $14.95 2004: $16.95 2007: $22.95 2009: $27.95 2010: $31.95 2012: $27.95 2015: $28.95 2016: $26.95 I became less interested in them (but still get one set each year) when the mint couldn't make up its mind what an uncirculated set was. Historically it had been just a set of circulation strikes pulled from production. Then they started using special dies and special planchets and were almost satin proofs. Then they went part way back to just using special die sets. When it became impossible to distinguish an "uncirculated" coin from a high grade circulation strike, the mint dealt the hobby a real blow. I have been buying the annual ATB Quarters circulation strike sets since 2010 because this is the closest thing they offer to the classic coin sets. No frills, just coins pulled from circulating production lines, sealed in stiff plastic. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
When it became impossible to distinguish an "uncirculated" coin from a high grade circulation strike, the mint dealt the hobby a real blow. Well that was true from 1947 to 2004 as well. Was the hobby dealt a severe blow then as well? |
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Valued Member
United States
110 Posts |
I purchased 30 1968 proof sets from the Mint in 1968 for $2.10 each, and sometimes I wonder if it would have been a better investment to have bought 30 "pet rocks", instead.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1027 Posts |
Those mint sets weren't anything special were they? I was under the impression that they were just circulation strikes that were pulled off of the production lines (my apologies if I am wrong). There were the SMS sets from 1965 to 1967 which were sort of half-proofs and are easily distinguished from the circulation strikes. The only thing that prevented the 2005 Mint Set coins from being proof coins is that they were only struck once. They used special planchets, special die sets, struck then at above circulating force and gave them special post-strike handling. When they went back to using standard planchets and die sets, they were still using presses set above circulation force and were still handled separately from coins intended to circulate. This produced coins that were fundamentally different from circulation strikes but there was no way of knowing which was which when comparing two loose coins. If I have this wrong, please feel free to slap me, sometimes I need it.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12839 Posts |
I was about to make a snide comment about the value of pet rocks vs proof sets but decided to look pet rocks up on ebay, and there is at least one vintage one out there for sale for around 14 bucks. 1968 proof sets are listed for $5-$10, so maybe you would have been better off with those pet rocks. Who knew. |
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Valued Member
United States
81 Posts |
The number is declining because the collector base is declining.
I am old enough to remember when the 1992 White House silver dollar commanded a significant premium due to its microscopically small mintage of 200,000. Times are surely changed from then.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1027 Posts |
If those 1968 proof sets were all of the "No S" variety, you could trade them for about 1000 ATB 5oz pucks (5 sealed mint boxes, ~340 US lbs of silver). |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
I purchased 30 1968 proof sets from the Mint in 1968 for $2.10 each, Proof sets or mint sets? Proof sets were $5 each from the mint in 1968. |
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Moderator
 United States
188708 Posts |
Quote:
Those mint sets weren't anything special were they? I was under the impression that they were just circulation strikes that were pulled off of the production lines The mint set coins are minted separately from the business strike coins with higher pressure and at a slower speed. It has been this way for a very long time, Conder or Cladking should be able to confirm how long. |
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Valued Member
United States
110 Posts |
To Conder101:
1968 Proof sets!
I'll do some rechecking on the purchase price of the 1968 sets.
I haven't seen them since 1968, because they are in a vault 40 miles away.
But I am probably remembering the price of all the 1963 and 1964 Proof sets that I also purchased from the Mint way back then.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Probably, from 1950 to 64 the proof sets were $2.10 each. In 68 when they started with the hard cases and making them in San Francisco the price rose to $5 a set. Mint set issue price in 68 was $2.50 a set. Issue prices for each year of mint and proof set can be found in the RedBook. |
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Posted 09/16/2016 1:18 pm
