2019-W Lincoln cent vs. 1996-W Roosevelt dime
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Uncirculated 2019-W Lincoln cents, the first to bear this mintmark, will be included in this year’s Mint Sets. (Proof counterparts will be available also.) The last time something similar was offered was in 1996, with the inclusion of a W dime in that year’s set. The 1996-W dime, mintage 1.45 million, currently sells for about $10. Mint sets today have much lower mintages, around 300K. Lincoln cents are more widely collected than Roosevelt dimes.
So a few interesting questions arise. How much will this cent spark additional demand for the 2019 Mint Set? And will the W cent carry a higher price tag than the W dime after final mintage figures are revealed?
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There are more Lincoln collectors than Roosevelt collectors. But this has an unlimited mintage. I would not be surprised if the Lincoln cents are selling for $10. But the rest of the Mint set won't be much more than face value.
In my opinion, there is no money to be made here by buying the sets.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
The 2019 Mint Set does have an unlimited mintage, but I doubt it will exceed the 1.45 million mintage of the 1996 set. I don't have any feel for the W Lincoln's investment prospects, but I'm wondering if it will become more valuable than the 1996-W dime if the mintage of the 2019-W Lincoln is significantly lower.
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I'll probably buy most or all of the 2019 sets to get the cents but I prefer the 96W dime as I hate zinc cents.
It may or may not. Consider the 2017 EU Lincoln with only 215,000 in existence. It's a $12-$15 coin.
But, again, the set cost here is $28. You will end up with the same dynamic as the 2017 EU set. The half dollar and Lincoln have value, but the rest of the set has no value. In the case of the 2017 EU set - again at 215,000 total units - the sets sell at $25 now against a $29.95 issue price while the Kennedy and Lincoln cent sell as single for around $25 combined.
The W cent will have value but it will not make it worth buying the set to get it. In my ever humble opinion.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Mint set sales has been hovering around 400K for the past few years. I'm assuming the coin is an incentive to improve sales. Even so, you're probably not going to see the 1M+ mark again. The last time the proof set sold over a million was early this decade...
I did speculate in WALLE's thread that the wording the Mint used could lead to other W-Mint coins.
"New this year," seems to imply it's not a one-off like the 96 dime. (At least the Mint doesn't include any language that it's a one-off.) What if they do a nickel next year? Then the dime. Then the rest of the coinage. (We should (hopefully) be back to a single reverse on the quarter by 2022.) A sequential year W-Mint set in all three finishes would greatly improve sales over the next 5 years and would probably create a bigger demand for the coin overall.
Oh, and if you're a cent completionist, there'll be another kids set released at the end of March that's going to contain a blank cent planchet, so you can send your sealed box to our hosts and get a slug into a slab with a year on it. I wonder if you'll be able to get a First Strike on the label...
I am in it for the long term... at some point they may issue a W nickel, quarter and half.... Then I would have a complete W set...
If I live that long... 
Cheers, RickO
I picked this up at the Philly mint
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The 1996-W Roosevelt Dimes sells for about $100-$125 in a MS68FB (Current highest grade) and I feel the Lincoln would be around the same price. Even though mint set sales have been hovering around 400,000 sets, I would imagine this number to go much higher with the inclusion of this cent. Now if they made the W cent with the same metal content as say the 1909 cents, that would be something. Doubt it though.
Later, Paul.
They did that with the satin finish cents in the 2009 mint sets. Most collectors ignored the change in metallic composition, and it didn't affect their value much.
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If you want the half, pick up a silver 2014-W reverse proof.
(Or go for the gold at slight additional cost.)
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It looks like a complete W set is now attainable. The cent from the 2019 proof and uncirculated sets, the nickel from the 2020 proof sets, the dime from the 2015 March of Dimes commem set, the quarter from the W coins released into circulation, the half from the 2014 Kennedy silver set, and the Native American dollar from the 2015-W set.
It appears that sales of the 2019 Mint Set, with the 2019-W uncirculated cent, were around 345,000, making it the lowest mintage standard uncirculated Lincoln. Proof and Reverse Proof versions actually had higher mintages.
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