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Apmex Proof And Mint Sets?

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seamonkey5150's Avatar
United States
131 Posts
 Posted 04/27/2025  7:14 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add seamonkey5150 to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Has anyone bought any Proof or Mint sets from APMEX? Was wondering how the quality was on them. Did the sets have any hazing or toning?
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cladking's Avatar
United States
2158 Posts
 Posted 04/28/2025  08:29 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add cladking to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
No matter who you buy mint sets from it will depend largely on the date. '84 mint sets will be OK except for the pennies. '90 sets will be pristine and 1968 sets will be badly hazed. '68 to '71 and '74 to '78 will be the worst. I believe some sellers pull out the very bad ones but they can't pull out all the bad ones.

Proof sets are better but many of these have light haze on them.

The hazing and tarnish can be removed from most mint set coins except some dates are worse. '68(P) cents usually can't be restored by soaking in acetone. '70 dimes are tougher. Even some important coins like the '76-P type I ike often can't be restored. A lot of these are so ugly it's no great loss.

For the main part these sets need to be dismantled for proper stabilizing and storage but it's not happening. In ten years even some of the more stable sets like the 1989 are going to be skunked.
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
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cladking's Avatar
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2158 Posts
 Posted 04/28/2025  08:45 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add cladking to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
It's impossible to tell from pricing what APMEX's stock looks like but they are selling the easy to find '72 for more than the less easy to find '71 that is always tarnished. This suggests to me that they cull out very few sets so they'll all be typical. The '72 sets will have a few coins that are tarnished lightly and the '71 will have several or all of the coins tarnished and some that can't be saved.

I do not recommend collecting or saving mint sets. I saved the nicest 20 sets I ever ran across and when I opened my safety deposit boxes several years ago they were a fright. Fortunately I had saved some nice Gems out of the packaging and even soaked them way back in the '70's and they are all still pristine. The problem, I believe, is partly contaminants left on them and mostly PVC in the packaging. If the packaging is kept very dry and they are stored vertically they seem to do better but even the best are hazing.
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
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cladking's Avatar
United States
2158 Posts
 Posted 04/28/2025  08:49 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add cladking to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Don't panic if this is all news to you. Across the board nearly 75% of the coins can be restored to pristine condition. There are a few specific coins that are highly problematical but for the main part the coins can be restored. The lightly hazed coin are much better so just don't let them sit too long in the packaging.
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
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seamonkey5150's Avatar
United States
131 Posts
 Posted 04/28/2025  09:48 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add seamonkey5150 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I wasn't going to keep them in the sets, was going to use them to add them to my collection albums. Figured it was cheaper to get the sets than to piece out each one. Might just do from 1999 to date to catch all the quarters they started doing. Maybe just start getting a few at a time from my LCS. There's not many around me. I have to go to the town over from me. The time I was there, I kinda got the impression he doesn't like people just hanging out in the shop. I think he mostly sells bullion. I did ask if he sold individual coins like the Lincoln Memorial cent. He did show me one of the boxes of what he had but he said to just email him what I was looking for and he can put it together. That's fine but then I'd have no idea what each price is going to be and I would feel like a cheapo if I have him put some back. I'd rather just go through the box myself. I do have his price list for mint and proof sets, so I know what those would be.
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cladking's Avatar
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2158 Posts
 Posted 04/28/2025  12:43 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add cladking to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I doubt many people are searching for quality in the later sets so they should be typical which extremely good quality. I prefer hand selecting sets but this is less necessary in the later sets unless you are very picky. Earlier sets are much less picked over than people imagine because most picked over sets are destroyed and replaced by typical sets. But the old sets are going to be hazed for sure in some dates and even the best can be tarnished.
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
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