Anybody ever notice how many "original" mint sets have blast white Frankies...

Russ

...yet the other coins in the set are toned?

Russ, NCNE

darktone

I don't think there are too many mint sets left that have not been picked over. mike

Higashiyama

Actually, I have had surprisingly good luck in buying these things off ebay. As long as the photo is good, you can usually tell in advance if the coins have been switched. Nonetheless, I have been suckered into a few bad purchases. In any case, there is usually a consistency of toning (even extending to the copper coins to some degree), so switching is pretty transparent. In addition to the toning, the grade of coins in 1950s mint sets seems to average one or two higher than those from rolls. If your half dollars are white (or toned differently from the quarters), and if they grade MS62-63 rather than MS64-65, there is a problem.

One other key point - the toning pattern differs materially by mint -- I do not have a very big sample but Denver coins seem to have nicer toning than the Philadelphia coins.