A Closer Look At Collecting The 1965-1967 Special Mint Set Coins

PCGS - The mid-1960s was a colorful time in American numismatics, with the United States Mint making a series of changes to accommodate a terrible coin shortage brought on by widespread hoarding of 90% silver circulating dimes, quarters, and half dollars as the price of silver rose. To lessen the cost of producing circulating coinage, the United States Mint switched the composition of the dime and quarter to copper-nickel clad, reduced the amount of silver in the half dollar to 40%. And to help dissuade the removal of coins from circulation, the mint temporarily removed mintmarks from all coins beginning in 1965. During that same year, mint officials stopped making annual proof sets and uncirculated sets, and instead focused on the production of circulating coinage.



But all was not lost for collectors, who were offered a new type of annual coin product called a Special Mint Set (typically abbreviated SMS). These Special Mint Sets consist of a single Lincoln Cent, Jefferson nickel, Roosevelt dime, Washington quarter, and Kennedy half dollar and represent a numismatic marriage of the uncirculated sets and proof sets.

The coins in the Special Mint Set were struck at the San Francisco Mint with polished dies and blanks and boast higher-quality finishes than seen on typical uncirculated coins. However, SMS coins were generally not struck multiple times (as with most proof coins) and in many cases were not polished at the mint to the same degree as proof coins. Thus, coins in the Special Mint Sets generally do not match the quality of typical proof coinage. These sets were issued by the mint for $4 apiece - nearly double the price of the 1964 proof set and uncirculated set, issued at $2.10 and $2.40, respectively.

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