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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,190 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3276 Posts |
are coins from a mint set exactly the same as business strike coins in circulation? Say I opened a brand new roll of 2011 nickels and grabbed one of them. And say I grab a mint set for 2011 and pull out the nickel. Would the coins be the same? Would it be impossible to tell which was from the mint set? I've always wondered and never asked. Are thee any differences at all between these two coins?
Kind of embarassing to ask such a noob question. Lol. But you can't knoe everything.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
my understanding is that coins going into mint sets are taken out of the process soon after striking, to minimize damage during the packaging process. Such damage is called "bag marks". In theory a coin from a mint roll ought to be more likely to display bag marks than a coin from a mint set. But that's a probability, not a guarantee.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Nowadays it is simple to tell. The ones from the Mint sets are stained, scratched, worn looking. The ones you find in everyday change look better.  Kind of kidding but there have been lots of complaints about the quality of coins from the Mint lately. In most instances I see no differences at all. |
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Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
From 2005 to 2010 the mint coins were absolutely different because of the satin finish. I believe the (current, non-satin finish) mint set coins are still minted separately from the business strikes, though I am not sure how easy it would be to determine the difference.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1256 Posts |
I recently picked up the LSC 2011 P and D from mint sets and they are near flawless with great strike. Not satin finish. BU bank rolls simply don't compare.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
In general the coins from the mint sets TEND to have a slightly better strike and fewer marks but they have the same surface finish (Except from 2005 to 2010). Notice I said they tend to come that way. You can find poor strike and marked up mint set coins and you can find well struck and basically mark free business strikes out of bank rolls.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1817 Posts |
The coins destined for mint sets are specially run, they aren't taken from in production coinage, and usually quite early in the calendar year. The handling isn't too different from usual business strike coins, they fall into a hamper to be sorted for assembling into the heat sealed sets. That's why some coins in a sealed set are scratched or otherwise banged up, unlike the proofs, which never come into contact with another coin while at the mint.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3276 Posts |
So in theory they are exactly the same? However mint set coins are supposedly handled with more care and treated better?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
IME, Proofs are handled with much greater care. I don't believe that Mint Set examples are treated any differently than IFC coins.
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
In my opinion they are exactly the same, except for the range of quality. The mint set coins have a higher percentage in the upper-range, even more once the coins leave the mint (circulation attrition of the business strikes).
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3276 Posts |
Thanks everyone. My reason for asking is because there are a few sets I wanted to start collecting... I want business strikes only and was wondering if buying mint sets would count or if there is a difference. Looks like they will be perfect for a business strike set of washingtons.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,190 |
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Posted 10/25/2011 10:30 am
