Are 1956-1964 flat pack proof sets disappearing due to the increase in silver's spot price.

SanctionII

I have stopped by a few B&M shops over the past few days to snoop.

I have not seen a single flat pack proof set from 1956-1964 in these shops.

Where are they?

The melting pot or in a secret location owned, managed, operated and maintained by "Mr. Big"

19Lyds

No.

AUandAG

<< <i>No.
>>

keets

yes.

chumley

they did at my house

MrEureka

I doubt the 56-59 sets are getting melted, but the later sets are doomed.

Also get ready to say goodbye to most of the Blue and Brown Ikes, and many of the modern silver commems.

I'm even considering scrapping a big portion of my Franklin Mint collection.

cmerlo1

I hope so

Rampage

Actually, a dealer friend of mine just busted open 200 silver sets from 2000 to 2007 and scrapped all the 90%. I would not be surprised if folks are doing that with the earlier sets, too.

nankraut

I've sold over 1000 61-64 sets in the last 10 days for about a buck over melt (@ the time of sale). Still selling a lot, even tho' I've raised the price.

19Lyds

<< <i>they did at my house >>

Really?

How many did YOU melt vs sell?

OPA

<< <i>I'm even considering scrapping a big portion of my Franklin Mint collection >>



Wow, I'm surprised you held on to those dogs as long as you did. Not much of a market for Sterling Silver. I do agree, that FM, artistically, had some superior products...to bad most were in Sterling Silver.

shorecoll

A small dealer in Baltimore told me somebody came by and bought all he had to melt.

Teva

I don't think they melt I just think they just keep trading hands?

segoja

agree with teva

fcloud

Some dealers at the show I was at on Saturday were talking about melting their proof sets. One dealer broke out the sets and tossed them into his melt pile because he could get more than they are worth. Most dealers want to by them at 20% back. This is less than melt, so they are happy to break them apart. I wish they didn't becasue it is just more stuff being lost to the blast furnace. The other dealer was breaking up the sets and putting them in rolls getting ready to melt. Hopefully it is just a local thing.

golfer72

Who melts them? Why cant they melt copper too?

kranky

<< <i>Who melts them? Why cant they melt copper too? >>



There's a US law (passed in 2006) that prohibits melting of cents and nickels.

Rampage

<< <i>

<< <i>Who melts them? Why cant they melt copper too? >>


There's a US law (passed in 2006) that prohibits melting of cents and nickels. >>


That is correct. And, I would be willing to bet that at the current copper prices, if that law had not been passed, the copper cents currently found in change would dry up pretty fast. As it is now, I think many folks are hoarding them in hopes of that law getting turned over some day.

keets

I don't think they melt I just think they just keep trading hands?

trust me, at the current price the 61-64 Sets are ending up with all the "junk" Silver and finding their way into the melt pot.

PonyExpress8

While there are way too many of these in the 61-64 period on the marketplace and some will be melted like some were at the last run up in silver, the majority will be trading at their silver content value at these levels and higher and not be broken up. This is what happened in the last run up in 79-80 when the Hunt Brothers pushed silver to 2x what it is today. Current GS may not reflect the silver value of these sets but will keep reasonable caught up with it.

halfcentman

Over the past three weeks, I have bought over 200 sets from 1959-1964, and I had to have my 11-year-old get out the scissors and cut them up. When this happens, I pay 0.2 less for 90% because I have to pay her $5/hr to do this.

Julian

<< <i>I'm even considering scrapping a big portion of my Franklin Mint collection. >>



Say it ain't so, Andy.

cladking

The best coins can be the first to go.

A coin shop doesn't maintain a stock of something like '68-D half dollars or even BU rolls of
them but when the price goes up they might bust up those 100 mint sets that are just sitting
around. Few collectors keep a lot of things like circulated later date silver coins but they may
have BU rolls that get traded off.

Even people melting copper now will likely be buying BU rolls to save the trouble of sorting.

SanctionII

TTT.

Anything new in this area since I first posted this thread in 2010?

Are flat packs being destroyed and the silver coins melted, or are they just migrating from place, to place, to place as part of the endless "river of silver".

bestmr

Most of my 90% is from proof sets I cut up and put into tubes so I'm guilty.

Mercfan

<< <i>I don't think they melt I just think they just keep trading hands? >>



I also agree, but once proof silver coins are out of the mint cello and in a bag jangling around with a bunch of circulated coins, isn't the end result the same?

The proof sets from which they were liberated are no longer intact, and the individual proof coins (the silver ones, for sure) are no longer in the population of proof coins in proof condition.

The population of flat pack sets from those years is down whether the silver coins from those sets are melted or bagged and trading hands as 90%.

Or am I missing something?

Cameonut

I had a mountain of silver proof sets where I had removed the cameos and/or varieties. It was almost impossible to sell the cut up set to anyone.

So I cut the halves, quarters, and dimes out of the sets and made proof rolls. Been fortunate to sell rolls at well above melt - more than I could have ever sold them for separately.

Of course, I keep all the early to mid 50's proofs - and sell only the 1958 to 1964's in rolls.

I think i have one roll of dimes left and one roll of quarters.