Cladking Or Others - List Of Scarce Post-1964 Issues

I do know that off the bat the '70 and '81 mint sets are tough to find, because there are NIFC coins in them (1970-D Kennedy half and 1981 SBA dollars, respectively). Also 1996 mint sets because of the 1996-W dime which was only found in that set.

87 because of the 1/2
and any XF/AU 82/83 that you may find in pocket change

It seems like every year I like more and more of the moderns. Many of them simply don't exist in sufficient quantity to supply a mass market and this especially is true if people demand nice attractive coins.

Coins like nice attractive well made '76 type I Ikes will be needed in every Ike collection yet only several thousand survive and every year there are fewer and fewer because people don't care and the mint set coins are starting to tarnish.

I could add quite a bit to John77's list as so many moderns were either poorly made or few were set aside or both. ...And now the mint set coins are turning bad.

Look for the higher priced coins toidentify those that were poorly saved and then see which of these are generally poorly made. Coins like '68, '71, and '74-S SD Lincolns should be sure winners. '75, '82, and '83 nickels as well as '69, '71, '75. '82. '83 and '90's era dimes and quarters. Very gemmy half dollars with nice clean shields are hard to find but they are out there and can often be picked up cheap.

There are lots of modern varieties and I like all of these except for the subtle ones. Even the mint set varieties are very interesting because being in mint sets will probably increase their attention. '70-S sm dt cents, '69-D/D dimes, '88-P RR 50c, '74 DDO halfs, '81-P type "d" quarters etc are all very interesting coins. Don't forget things like '82-NMM dimes, WI leaf quarters and the many other more dramatic and important varieties.

Any really nice and attractive modern deserves to be saved. Even in lower grades like XF there are great coins which can be plucked out of circulation. I always watch for nice well struck 1982-P quarters for instance because these are scarce in any grade at all.

Even if these never become mass markets the current generation is duty bound to save some coins for the future. They can never become a means for large numbers of people to learn about collecting and the space and internet age if we don't save some coins for them.

I can speak from experience that any AU, well-struck nickel from 1960-1986 should be saved. Especially if they have full steps, or any steps at all for the late 60s through the late 70s. My collection is actually missing more than a few dates from the 70s simply because I can't find any suitable examples in circulation.