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 Replies: 11 / Views: 5,049 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17964 Posts |
I've really enjoyed looking at the thread where US coins and sets in original official packaging are shown. I thought I could share some of the World Proof and Uncirculated sets from my collection. My oldest UK proof set is from 1953, which has a nice leatherette case:   In 1953 The Royal Mint also issued an uncirculated set sealed in plastic. Collectors call this 'the plastic set', and the penny was only issued in these sets. As you can see, the coins were put into the plastic envelopes very haphazardly at the Mint!  The Royal Mint didn't issue another UK set until 1968, when these specimen sets of decimal coins were released. The half, one and two pence coins are dated 1971 and the 5 and 10 pence 1968! The plastic gets very sticky and the coins are usually seen badly tarnished.  The next Proof Set was in 1970, bringing together the last pre-decimal coins before the UK adopted decimal currency the following year. The set was sealed in a hard plastic case inside a card folder - this remained the standard type of presentation until the 1990s, and was the start of an (as yet) unbroken series of annual Proof Sets:  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
4078 Posts |
NumisRob, thanks for sharing. It is interesting to see these UK, OGP, post to help me/us learn.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United Kingdom
17964 Posts |
The Royal Mint did not issue annual British uncirculated sets until 1982. For many years these were sealed in plastic inside a square card holder that was simple but attractive:  By the 1990s The Royal Mint decided that what collectors really wanted were posh cases! Although the plastic cases were similar to those used since 1970, they were enclosed in a large hinged blue case - or you could spend extra for an even bigger red leatherette case! At least the quality of the coins was better than in the 1970s - they had a nice cameo finish, and didn't tarnish rapidly!  By 2000 the proof set was in a larger, prettier case but this was inside a simple cardboard box:  Today the uncirculated set has become very expensive and includes a rather unnecessary book and an outer cover. 
Edited by NumisRob
02/23/2015 5:57 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17964 Posts |
The Pobjoy Mint started producing the Isle of Man's coins in 1975, but their first Uncirculated sets were very similar in presentation to The Royal Mint's first decimal coin set of 1968:  The Royal Mint makes coins for many countries outside the UK. During the 1980s and 1990s, Uncirculated sets from selected countries were made available to British collectors through The Royal Mint's Bulletin. The sets were packaged like the contemporary British sets - this is a 1985 set from Tuvalu:  Proof sets were also packaged like the UK ones. This set of British Caribbean coins is dated 1965, but was sold by The Royal Mint around 1980:  Moving away from the British Isles, here's a 1991 Uncirculated set from Denmark:  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17964 Posts |
The Monnaie de Paris in France issued its first modern sets in the mid-1960s, called Fleur de Coins. The coins were of Uncirculated quality, not prooflike. The first sets were supplied with the coins in an open-sided vinyl envelope in a flimsy cardboard box:  By 1973 the coins were sealed in pliofilm, but the outer packaging was of similar quality:  The presentation had improved significantly by 1979:  From 1991 the Monnaie de Paris started issuing actual Proof Sets, which were marketed as "Belle Epreuve", and the FDC sets were re-designated as BU sets. These sets sold in relatively low numbers at the time of issue, but subsequently became greatly sought-after, as many of the coins in them were not struck for circulation. This 1994 set has a mintage figure of 3,707 and is the only source for that year's 1 centime and 10 franc coins. The packaging changed again:  Since France adopted the Euro, this type of packaging has been standard for the BU sets:  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
Great photos.
Thanks for sharing!
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17964 Posts |
Quote:
Thanks for sharing! Thanks, Buddy! Let's look at other European coin sets. Here's a 2003 proof set from Germany:  ... and this Swiss set describes itself as Uncirculated, but the coins are better than many proofs I've seen!  Here's a 1975 set from Spain - sold as a Proof Set:  By the end of the 20th century Spain was packaging its commemorative coins in very fancy boxes:  Spain's neighbour Portugal issued a set for the World Roller Hockey Championships in 1982 - well, I suppose somebody had to!  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2805 Posts |
I really like that Eastern Caribbean set!! Here's one of my world sets.   This is a proof coin set from the Empire of Iran, 1971. It's basically a piece of pointless grandstanding - it was decided that 1971 was the "2500th Anniversary of the Monarchy in Iran", a date that matched up perfectly with Mohammed Reza Pahlavi Shah's delusional ambitions. A grand celebration was launched. A tent city was pitched at the ruins of Persepolis. Foreign dignitaries of all stripes were invited to this amazing party. Special gold and silver proof sets were sold. One mistake - he didn't invite very many actual Iranians. So his people saw all this as a tremendous waste of money. After 8 more years of repressing his people and wasting tons more money, the Shah lost his throne and was forced to flee during the Islamic Revolution of 1979. I have a special interest in Iranian coins so I had to buy this; it was about $120. This makes it my single largest coin-related purchase to date. On ebay this five-coin set sells for about $300 so I think it was justified. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17964 Posts |
A few Commonwealth proof sets: Malta silver proof set from 1977:  Indian proof set from 1975:  Also from 1977, a proof set from Barbados, struck by the Franklin Mint:  ... and a 1997 Uncirculated set from Hong Kong, the year it was handed back from the UK to China:  Edited by NumisRob
02/23/2015 7:41 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17964 Posts |
nalaberong - thanks for posting the Iranian proof set and telling us the story behind it - fascinating! Here's a 1980 Uncirculated set from New Zealand. I have several going back to 1965 with very similar packaging:  Proof sets were in a thicker plastic case - this one is from 1975:  Things had changed a bit by 1992:  The Cook Islands sets have different coins (such as the triangular 2 dollars) but are packaged in a similar way to those from New Zealand:  Edited by NumisRob
02/23/2015 7:27 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17964 Posts |
Last few countries now from which I have official mint sets (I am not posting my Australian ones as I'm sure other members have a better selection!) Panama - I bought this 1978 Franklin Mint set from a bank in Panama in 1985. It includes a tiny two-and-a-half centimos coin. I never saw any of the coins with the designs from this set in circulation!  I also have this big fella from Panama:  A nice set from South Africa, but why did they spoil it by putting a price label that won't peel off? At least I remember what I paid for the set!  This second South African set is more of a curiosity. I bought it from Coincraft, and all the writing is in Norwegian. I presume the South African Mint packaged some sets for Norway and Coincraft later bought those that hadn't sold.  Thanks for letting me share these with you, and looking forward to seeing more sets from other countries that are in other CCF members' collections! Edited by NumisRob
02/24/2015 03:24 am
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Valued Member
United States
262 Posts |
Great posts! The history of offerings and types of cases is very interesting. Thanks for sharing these.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 5,049 |
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Posted 02/23/2015 4:17 pm
