1985

Great birth year! As an '85 baby myself, I have to agree.

I have the same problem - born in 73, nothing good. I've been buying World proof sets for a while now, and it is becoming a pretty cool set.

1985 is a very underrated year for US coins. It's a little boring since
there aren't a lot of major varieties but there are enough to keep it
interesting.

It's the first year that the miunt had the problems with the copper
plated zinc cents mostly solved. There were still lots of coins with
bubbles and peels and large percentages of the coins have very un-
attractive surfaces but very nice choice and superb gems can be
found in mint sets with a little effort. Some of these will even ap-
pear as dramatic PL's but these will take more effort. Prices are
quite nominal since demand is low.

Nickels are a little more interesting. These come extremely nice and
are commonly PL but they are difficult to find without marking (and FS).
The Philly issue is tougher and appears as a superb gem in only about
every 300th mint set. If you're contemplating buying an 1804 dollar
this may seem about as common as dirt but in real life, it's a very tough
coin. Large percentages of these sets have disappeared over the last
22 years and most of the coins are simply lost. They had no value even
as superb gems until recently so many just got pushed into a Jefferson
nickel folder or spent. Even if it didn't get a big thumbprint or a rub from
a folder or album it's the type of collection that owners are often advised
by dealers to "just spend". The remaining sets won't all survive either.
These sets are still being "consumed" enmass by the general public. You
can't just go on eBay and buy all these since they are often unavailable
now days.

Dimes are less interesting but neither is common in high grade. The Den-
ver isn't too tough but the Philly is a little harder. These come as nice PL's
as well. Rolls are improbable and condition in rolls is poor for this date.
One of the best die pairs striking the Philly coins always has a deep short
gouge right in front of the portrait.

Quarter are my favorite for this date. This is the first year that all quarters
have the type "d" reverse but a few of the Philly coins have a distinct ob-
verse. This is the "small bust" coin and is most easily seen in the distance
between the "E" of "LIBERTY" and the bust. It is much greater on the small
bust. It is "common" in circulation (~1: 200) but is a bear in grades over VF.
Uncs are very scarce. This date is one of the more available clad quarters
in rolls but that just means there are very few out there. Worse, by far, is
that almost all these coins were set aside by very few entities. Unfortunately
none of the small bust coins appear in the coins set aside by these entities.
The only source with which I'm familiar is a private mint set with a statue of
liberty medal in it. They are scarce enough in these sets that there may be
no more than a couple dozen issued and these may mostly have been "con-
sumed". Gems of the more common variety are interesting as well. I haven't
seen enough rolls to have an opinion on their availabilty from this source but
they are tough in the sets. Only about 1% are spectacular.

Half dollars are similar to the quarters but tougher yet. Finding these with
nice clean shields is a job.

Proofs come really nice for this date. It is just about the best year (especially
for an average). I haven't looked at enough to have an opinion on PR-70's
but really nice coins account for around 3% of the coins from sets.

If you really want a challenge try finding an original mint set with all the coins
gem. You can always take a Philly package from one set and a Denver from
another to make it much easier. You may as well do the same with the proof
set. I believe there are three private issue mint sets you can add. Of course
there's the souvenir set too, but trying to find choice souvenir and private
sets is an exercise in futility. They are scarce enough to stand on their own
anyway.

It really is a good date even if there are some better ones nearby.

If I had been born in '85, I'd be putting together the nicest high-grade set (in PCGS plastic), including Cameo Proofs that I could put my hands on. The fact that they are available now at reasonable prices makes it that much more interesting, because in my experience - things never stay static. That era of coins is just old enough to be showing some attrition, and once it is recognised, they never get any cheaper. Good Luck!

My pleasure guys.

I have a hard time
reading the wider
lines, so try not to
write them.