Will Ours Be Worth Anything?

I don't disagree in the least.

All coins self destruct except those which are preserved by coin collectors or are saved inadvertantly like silver used to get saved as backing for paper currency. Clad has not been saved inadvertantly because the mint and FED intentionally rotate their coin supplies so thoise in storage the longest are the first ones issued. This is a description of a 100% efficient coin grinding machine. The only coins that escape it are those which circulate poorly like pennies.

Of course the zincolns don't even need to circulate to evaporate. The older memorials circulated a little and the zincolns disappear as soon as the copper is breached. The early issues are already very tough in gem. Oh, none are rare but try finding a nice gem '84-D if youthink they're easy. Rolls are elusive and expensive and usually a zinc oxide mightmare. Mint set coins are more than half destroyed and the other half are none too pretty. You'll find only a couple gems per hundred sets and the rest are usually not even choice condition. Most are MS-62 or 63 with displeasing surfaces and many are improperly plated and won't be with us for too long.

It's hard to figure the later date eagle reverse issues. Most of these are going to be available in XF for years yet in circulation so I wouldn't keep them. You can get BU rolls of things like the '97 for just a little more than 25C each and these are a much better bet. I'm a little afraid of '96 and '98 quarters because there's reason to believe the FED has some of these in storage. Nice Uncs are certainly worth holding onto and it's possible that there will be extra demand for the last year of issue.

My favorite clads come in the mint sets and the '98 is very low mintage. Quality is fairly good so nice gemmy coins aren't difficult. These will cost more but the added potential might make them a bargain. Older mint sets are a steal at this time. Some of them will sell for little over face value so it's hard to go wrong.

Anytime I release coins as I often do since I set aside BU rolls each year and some of these are clunkers, I'll always go through and look for anything special or different that would make it worth saving. You can find lots of varieties this way and many are still unreported or unfound. It might also be a good idea to keep any unusually attractive coins. There's just not that much invested in something like this and you can always spend it later if it doesn't amount to much. I'm aware of no varieties in '98 quarters but there can always be a first.

With a mintage of just 1,457,949, you'd think the 1996 Mint set would be way up in price, since that is a very low mintage for the 1996 W dime, but it isn't. It lists for $12.25 for the set, but I see quite a few on ebay that are BIN with shipping cost around $8-$15, but they aren't selling it with the W dime. Pretty lame of the sellers. I guess they bought the set for just the W dime and don't want the other coins.

I like all the mint sets almost without exception. However the main reason I like them at all is they contain most of the best made coins of the modern era. You can find Gems in BU rolls but they are scarce in rolls and the rolls can be hard to find.

But only about one mint set in three has any gems in it. You can often be money ahead if you search out the best sets and buy only the nicer ones. Many of these sets are so cheap right now it doesn't much matter.

There are a lot of coins in each sets and lots of different sets so picking out a favorite is tough. 1972 sets have the most Gems on average but this just means they are more common. '72-D quarters come extremely nice with about 6 to 8% being Gem. The '69 set has historically been my favorite because I think the '69 quarter is vastly underappreciated. The coin is scarce in rolls and mint set coins are typically awful. Even nice choice coins of this date are tough. In recent years this date has been getting corroded in the pliofilm packaging because it has a thin layer of PVC inside. The coins can be saved by soaking in acetone or 91% alcohol if they are caught soon enough.

I guess the cheapest sets with noice coins are the best right now so this means the '74, '78, '79, '80 etc. In '85 they started using a few burnished planchets and PL's become much more common. The '88-D cent sometimes looks like a branch mint proof.

Generally these sets are not picked over too much except for old dealer stock. You want to tap into the supply line as close to the source as possible and you might even get a few coins for which the sets are heavily picked over like cameo-SMS. This means finding brick and mortar dealers who ship their sets often. Sometimes you can get a crack at the wholesale sets but usually they sell this privilege or do it themselves.

There's far more to modern collecting than just buying mint sets, of course. There are numerous issues that don't come in mint sets or don't come nice in the sets. There are countless varieties that don't come in the sets as well. Even though mint set varieties are "common" don't forget that even 10% of mint set mintage isn't all that many coins and the '70-S sm dt cent goes for upward of $60. So the much scarcer '68 DDO dime, for instance, might have some potential as well. It's a neat dime and a great collectible.

All three 1974 cents are always large date in the set. Small dates are common for all three '74 cents but come only in rolls so nice examples are scarcer. I especially like the '74-S small date in MS-64 or higher since the mint took pains to make these coins circulate. Most of the San Francisco '74 cent mintage was shipped to Denver and mixed with their issues. I believe these will get significant premiums when people start collecting moderns. '74 cents come nice in rolls and sets so use some discretion.

The '71 and later nickels were better struck but they don't always come very nice. About 4% of the '71 nickels in mint sets are nice "FS" gems and this is a better date since rolls are elusive. '70's nickels are a bear but about .08% of mint set coins are spectacular and attractive coins aren't too difficult. Roll coins tend awful for the date but are easy to find.

What makes the bicentennial quarter interesting to me is that it's obviously being ignored because it's distressingly common. If people were paying attention they'd know that it's best in the '76 mint set rather than the '75 and that Full Drum coins are not so common. Collectors are forgetting this is a one year type coin that will be available enough in superb Gem to be interesting but scarce enough that most type collectors willhave to settle for something a little less. With the burgeoning numbers of type collectors one would think it would get more attention. Unless people start saving these coins they will vbe even less common. The '75 & '76 mint sets sell for close to face value and many are cut-up by dealers for pocket change. The attrition rate on coins that aren't owned by collectors is extremely high.