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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,789 |
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Valued Member
Canada
160 Posts |
Hey everyone! I have a question about proof sets. Why do some proof coins end up being removed from their sets and placed in a 2x2 for example? Case in point, I just bought three Canadian dimes, all proofs, and they are in 2x2s. Why break them out of their set? are they ever sold individually? I can see breaking them out of a set to have them graded, but these are not. Thoughts? Why not leave them in their set and avoid handling them?
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5661 Posts |
They may have broken open the set to grade other coins in the set, and those were left over.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1484 Posts |
Or they may have been broken out and sold individually to maximize profit.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
Many sets have little if any value over face, so the less desirable ones are broken out and spent, leaving the others. I don't know about the Canadian ones, but it is fairly common to find proof coins in change in the US.
Edited by jimbucks
08/07/2021 4:56 pm
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Valued Member
United States
266 Posts |
For people who collect individual coins, like Kennedy half dollars or nickels, they don't care about the other coins in the proof set. So they buy them from someone who broke up the set or they broke it up themselves |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I get proof sets primarily to break out the coins and put in my Albums.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Over the years, I have acquired NCLT impaired proof silver coins for not much more than their silver value.
Some of these coins were originally issued individually but some of them also came from sets.
As pointed out in previous posts dealers often break proof sets, because more profit can be made by selling individual coins.
They know for example, that there collectors who only need individual coins to complete date sets. These sorts of collectors are willing to pay more for single coins, without having to bother to buy a whole set, and then re sell the coins they don't need.
Win / win for both dealer and collector.
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Valued Member
 Canada
160 Posts |
Thank you everyone! I had a feeling those were the reasons. It makes sense now. I may just start doing the same!
Edited by DouglasFir
08/07/2021 11:00 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
It is a shame that the Mint bothers to make those Proofs since so many just don't want them.
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CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives
 United States
12255 Posts |
Quote:
It is a shame that the Mint bothers to make those Proofs since so many just don't want them. In the US, in 2020, the regular proof set sold 600,000 units; the silver proof set sold over 400,000 units. Hardly a case of "a shame that the Mint bothers to make those" in the US. Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
Quote:
Hardly a case of "a shame that the Mint bothers to make those" in the US.  Just carl knows he still buys them!  I still buy them... and break them apart so the coins fill album holes.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3323 Posts |
I broke up a few '80s and '90s proof sets to remove them from the harsh environment imposed by those old holders. Many of those sets start to haze over time - trying to delay that process. But, once it starts you're pretty much left with a hazy coin.
"Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Up until 1950 the mint sold the coins individually. So if you only collected one or two denominations you just purchased those and you didn't have to fool with the other proof coins you didn't need or want. (If you check mintages for the individual coins you will find for 1936 to 1942 each denomination has a different mintage. The mintage figures you see posted for proof sets during that period is the mintage of the lowest mintage coin in the set because that is the MAXIMUM number of full sets that could theoretically be assembled.) When proofs returned in 1950 it was sets only. So after that collectors of just certain denominations began breaking up sets and you started having the individual loose coins to dispose of.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,789 |
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Posted 08/07/2021 4:10 pm
