Do you anticipate the next "Melt" by putting back some of the better 1957-70 Proof/SMS sets?

keets

Every time there's a spike in PM's it is reasonable to assume that a lot of Proof, SMS and Mint Sets get broken apart. That shrinks the pool of available Sets and raw singles. Are you holding some of the more available and less expensive set that have nice coins or still just Cherrypicking the best coins??

Al H.

SanctionII

I have partial sets and singles left over after cherrypicking. These leftovers are set aside and I will assemble complete sets from them. I then will sell these sets to recoup some of my purchase costs. The coins in these sets are mostly nice coins, but they are very common. I sold a number of these sets (from 53 to 62) at a coin show two Fridays ago.

I usually do not hold them or sell them with PM prices in mind, though if there is a run up in PM prices (like in 2011 if I recall) I will pay attention to Grey Sheet bid/ask prices for these proof sets and try to sell extras when the market is high.

291fifth

The more of that common stuff that gets melted the better. Save the cameos that are high grade pieces.

keets

that's my approach, also, and it usually means whatever coins I keep cost 10-15% of the Set bid price. I recently did my winter/spring inventory and got rid of most all my "stock" coins. I also went through my Capital holders and got everything in the right holders. I also came across a bunch of those felt pockets for the Capital sets. I color coded everything, so I guess that's means I still have some obsessiveness left!!

Cameonut

As with most cameo collectors, I have tons of partial sets after the cameos have been removed. I've also removed the varieties.

I'll keep the early '50s singles, but pretty much everything from 1957 on will hit the melt bucket if the price spikes.

I have also donated the nickels and dimes for use with YN's.

Relaxn

I am still very interested to see what shakes out of the big runup in PM's in 08/09- WHat was melted etc?

jmlanzaf

@Relaxn said:
I am still very interested to see what shakes out of the big runup in PM's in 08/09- WHat was melted etc?

Based on current bid/ask prices, not enough was melted. The collector base for these year sets shrinks faster than anyone melts the coins. Look at the current annual set mintage (even for silver sets) versus the annual set mintages in the early 1960s. 3 million sets in 1961 versus 387,000 silver mint sets in 2015 (and dropping)

ricko

Mine are all stored in a box.... have not even looked at some in years, well, some I purchased in the '90's I have never looked at. Stopped buying them around 2008/2009....There might be some good CAM's or DCAM's in that carton. Will check someday... Cheers, RickO

Type2

I still go by B/M's to pick this stuff up but the best place to go is the smelters to fine stuff they are going to melt and catch it before they do. They melt everything from coins to jewelry and other stuff you can even buy the stones that they pulled from jewelry on the cheep a lot of stuff that needs to be saved there my wife says you can't save it all, but I'll keep trying.