Mint Sets......the coins within.....are they collectible, profitable?

leothelyon

I stopped into a B/M coin shop the other day, one that I haven't visited before and his room setup were many glass cases that were lined up along every peripheral wall of the room. My initial thought was, how nice! But what was in the cases were worn circulated low grade examples of mostly common dates of every series that could have served equally well in the 2x2 boxes they very likely came from. The thought that I would have to ask to see the reverse side of every coin I would want to see turned me off as a waste of my time. For Jefferson nickels....there were only a couple dozen displayed, half were proof coins in the 80's, 90's so I asked, don't you get a lot of mint sets in the door here? His replied, yes but I don't have time to mess with them. I shared/recounted my experiences collecting coins growing up that there was usually someone who would pick out the best coins from those mint sets and put them out for display for sales, that that was the way I had built my collection. And I ran off a few names of sellers who did just that. I related to the owner how I had just came from the PO to send a coin that I had sold. All you have to do is to make sure there's nothing major on the coin, like a hit in the main focal areas of the coin, to make certain the coin grades MS63 and higher. The owner only reiterated again, "I don't have time for that!"
I looked around one last time and asked a gal if she had any real pearls because the shop also had jewelry on display and she said no. A few minutes later I asked, any gold nuggets? The answer was no again.
To sum up.....there was really nothing there I could part my money with and I usually try to buy something. There was little on display in coin supplies so out the door I went thinking why would I ever go back. Most of the coins that were on displayed belonged in 2x2 boxes......
So for those of you who have a B/M shop........

Leo

jmlanzaf

There's little money in Mint sets. Most dealers just dump them on anyone with a bid on them. Selling a Mint Set quarter for $1 or $2 is a good way to go broke.

Lakesammman

Not much value - selling a collection for a friend and the 1970's are both small date - O/W not much there - that plus the paper smells .......

braddick

I've come to learn over the years 99% of "collectible" coins are trash.

jmlanzaf

@braddick said:
I've come to learn over the years 99% of "collectible" coins are trash.

Lol. Trash might be harsh. But 99.9% are common and often not worth a dealer's time or expense to put them in inventory. Especially if they are liquid like Mint sets, it's better just to move them out as fast as possible.

OAKSTAR

@braddick said:
I've come to learn over the years 99% of "collectible" coins are trash.

I can't give 99% of mine away!......Why? Because no one wants them!

OAKSTAR

@leothelyon said:
Mint Sets......the coins within.....are they collectible, profitable?
Leo

Yes, if you look deeper. Mint errors, i.e; struck thru's, clips, clashes, etc.. and packaging errors (two denomination of a coin in one slot or missing coins in the cellophane mint sets) could be found.

OAKSTAR

You can sometimes find errors like this in mint sets.

olympicsos

We've let modern non bullion coins go and it is what it is.

Clackamas1

They are the only source for many mint state coins.

cladking

@Clackamas1 said:
That are the only source for many mint state coins.

So few people realize this.

They also don't realize that the sets are being consumed for this reason and they are being consumed by tarnish and attrition. Eventually some of the hardest to find coins will naturally drift higher in price and there will be a mad scramble to get the mint sets. Most of what's left will be eight or ten million dregs that are low on pristine specimens and Gems while high in dogs and rot.

But people think every coin in every set is as common as dirt. Coinweek recently released an article saying that the Gems are worth negative ten dollars each because they must be graded for $20 to sell them. Then they went on to say that you could lose your shirt owning them because there are so many more that could be capitalized at negative ten dollars that they would go to negative twenty dollars each. The negative $10 price is illusory because if they got popular millions would flood in for grading and the price would drop to negative $20.

Long before they dropped this far everyone would be throwing the last of the mint sets in the trash. This is where a lot of them have ended up anyway.

How ironic that Coinweek used a coin that people are starting to notice is hard to find right now. the '70 dime. If you look through about 20 '70 mint sets, pull out the nicest Philly dime and then send it is for conservation and grading you'll have a nice negative $10 coin which could have cost you as much as several hundred dollars since each set will run $15 if you purchase them outright.

It's no wonder there is no demand for moderns. It's too much work and money just to own very common coins with less than no value at all. If you don't believe how common these are just check the price guides and read all the articles. There are millions and millions because mintages were astronomical and being modern they all still exist mostly in MS-70.

Every day the world gets that much crazier.

Someday my bank will probably charge me to dump my safety deposit boxes in the dumpster. With coins and precious metals all in negative territory many people will be trying to back out on the rental agreements. Coins and collectors are just dinosaurs in a world where everyone makes a living taking in each others laundry and the coins in commerce are so valueless they often aren't taken in laundromats any longer!

tincup

cladking, do you no longer believe in the condition rarity of some of those mint set coins? You are usually much more upbeat on their potential.

But have to agree... if someone is trying to make a living selling those moderns.... could be a tougher go. And part of the problem is the competition for a person's dollars.... the US Mint gimmicks, etc.

OAKSTAR

I would say; check then "double check" all your crap/junk clad mint sets. Even though this one has a 40% Kennedy.

I actually cherry picked this set from a coin club auction! Unbelievable!! The seller and the other bidders never even saw it. Before the auction started, I'm looking around and watching other guys picking it up and looking at it! I couldn't believe it!!

At the time, I was one of the younger guys there. We all know these coin clubs.........All old whites guys with grasses!! 🤣 🤣

It was bid/listed as a 68 mint set, that's it! I was the only bidder. I probably won it for just the silver value. After I won it, I showed these guys. They couldn't believe it!! They ALL missed it!! The entire club gathered around looking at this cheap mint set I just won! It must be hell getting old!! 🤣 😂

JBK

They were all probably focusing on the shmutz on the half.

pf70collector

Fresh proof Eisenhower dollars conditional rarities maybe. I do not know. Just from what I have read here on forum.

cladking

@tincup said:
cladking, do you no longer believe in the condition rarity of some of those mint set coins? You are usually much more upbeat on their potential.

But have to agree... if someone is trying to make a living selling those moderns.... could be a tougher go. And part of the problem is the competition for a person's dollars.... the US Mint gimmicks, etc.

Threads like this and the Coinweek article are kindda depressing. Throw in the fact I'm dumping scarce coins into circulation because I won't pay anyone $10 each to take them off my hands and it really hits home the huge opportunity costs of trying to get too far ahead of the curve. It's been a lot of blood sweat and tears.

I'm still quite certain that moderns will soar some day but it no longer matters as much to me as when I was young. I have a very fatalistic sense of humor and I'm just laughing at the situation and myself. It is quite apparent they aren't going to break out of this rut until someday someone will go out to buy a specific coin like a nice chBU '70 dime and they can't find one anywhere. It is coming but it could be years away yet.

cladking

@JBK said:
They were all probably focusing on the shmutz on the half.

They all have shmutz on them. And it's a virtual certainty the Philly cent from this set has carbon spots.

JeffersonFrog

Collectible? As in, nice coins to fill albums? Absolutely. What better way to fill modern penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half, and dollar sets? Few silver issues, low prices, lots of supply = some nice coins at low to moderate prices. As a collector, what more can you ask for?

Profit? With a diligent eye, can I cherry-pick a nice 70-D Kennedy, or a clipped planchet nickel, or a struck-through grease example and make a one-off profit? Yes. Do I think I could make a living doing this? No.

My two cents.

OAKSTAR

@JeffersonFrog said:

Now that's what I'm talkin' bout!!

jmski52

My best Mint Set find was a 2010 Satin Finish Missing Edge Sacagawea, now graded SP-67, pop 3, none higher.

I have documented no more than 20 of these are out there, and none have sold publicly since about 2011 so the price guide is somewhat questionable.

BillJones

The double mint sets that were issued from 1947 to 1958 have yielded some high grade coins that ended up in slabs, selling for big money. I imagine that most of those sets have been picked over by now.

yspsales

It is cheap enough fun to dabble in this area of the hobby,

The most frustrating part?

Owning some superior conditioned or colorful coins that nobody will ever buy unless graded,

Even when graded you struggle to recoup fees.

I have a bunch of NICE clad, that if graded, would leave me underwater for lifetime.... lol