1964 United States Special Mint Set...question About The Value/Worth

, Jane.

If you're certain you have a '64 SMS, I'd probably send it off for grading. It would be exceedingly uncommon (I think there's been fewer than 50 certified), but I hope you've defied the odds. Good luck!

1964 SMS coins were never issued to the public. They were pattern coins struck as test pieces for the 1965 sets that would take the place of proof sets of that (and the following few years)

The pattern coins were then transferred to the estate of the Mint director. A few have leaked out and are rare.

The set you have posted looks like an aftermarket packaged Mint set ( no mint seal and no "US Mint")

Worth investigating but with the above facts known.

I would find a coin show somewhere where there might be a dealer to appropriately ID the set.

the mint didnt use that type of packaging until 66 the 65 SMS is in cello like a 64 proof set

These have been sitting in my parents basement along with all their other sets/coins for almost 45+ years, just in a shoe box. I have 3 sets of 1964 in original yellow envelopes, in clear wrap, labeled 1964 p.c. (proof coins) and one, as seen above in the clear hard plastic encased in the dark blue box.
All of their "sets" are in the original wrapper be it the proofs in the clear wrap or the SMS sets in the hard plastic. These have not been touched
in many decades...until we inherited them recently and I decided to finally go through them.

Foxwoods Man, I see on the other hard plastic cases of more recent years (66, 67) they do say, "United States Special Mint Set" above the
coins themselves...but this does not. If this was the first "trial" year, perhaps at first thought they put them in plain plastic cases and
as an after thought, they decided to "label them" for more authentic look? Just a thought...if these were indeed one of the original sets sent
out. When I take them to a reputable coin dealer, along with all the other coins, does anyone have any tips on "does and don'ts"...what if the
man/woman wants to take them to the back to look at them....in my opinion, that would be a no no....am I correct on this?

The difference between a proof coin and a special mint set coin is somewhat hard to explain. It can also be hard to distinguish between the two types when you have the coins in hand.

Basically, proof coins are struck with specially polished dies(the "mold" used to strike the coin) and polished planchets (the disk of metal the design is struck on). Proof coins are also generally struck more than once.

Special mint set coins were struck with specially polished dies, however the planchets were not specially polished. Special mint set coins were also only struck once, with a very high striking pressure. After producing a large group of coins, these dies were then put to use striking regular, business-strike coins (the ones you find in your pocket change).

Throughout the years that they produced sms coins, the production process varied. This may explain the wide variety of appearances that the coins have. Some special mint set coins look like proofs, and others look like business strikes.

The hard cases that special mint set coins come in are easily taken apart and the coins replaced. Because of this, simply finding 1964 dated coins in an sms case does not make them sms coins. It will take additional scrutiny to determine if these are sms coins.

There are die markers(mostly die polish lines) which have been used to distinguish 1964 sms coins from regular business strikes. You will have to compare your coins to high res close-ups of authenticated 1964 sms coins to compare the die markers. The dies that produced 1964 sms coins also produced regular business strike coins, so even this would not 100% prove a coin to be an sms strike.

I will also caution you about bringing these to a local coin store. While many coin dealers are very knowledgeable and willing to help, some do not have much knowledge about special, obscure, or rarely seen coins/medals/tokens. Simply make sure that you get a second, or third, opinion.

Thanks ErrorCoins222...do you have any suggestions on the best type of place to take these (and other coins) to? I do not plan on
immediately selling these to a dealer until I have a LOT more information. The place I am taking them to is one of the highest
rated places in our area...of course, I know mistakes can be made. AND, I do not know if these are authentic or not...but it would
sure be nice to know if they are or if they aren't. But, because I am brand new to this, I would like direction from those of you
who are familiar with the process!

As I said previously:

.. it looks like an aftermarket plastic case...no "US MInt", no mint insignia..

..find a decent coin show and show it to a few dealers and see what they say.

No rush....savor the possibility

This is what I mean (different year..same type)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-United...AOSwMNxXawKf