Let's Suppose the Year is 1898 and...

OneCent · May 23, 2008 1:10PM

I am in New Haven, Connecticut. It is winter and I am sitting by the fire in my smoking jacket with slippers. In a quiet moment of contemplation and thought, I decide that I would like to add the current year's proof coinage to my collection.

How would I go about doing this? Write a letter to the Mint in Philadelphia? Did the coins come as a set or did you have to purchase them individually? Has anyone seen a proof set intact, original packaging from this timeframe?

This is somewhat of a spin-off of the 1936 Proof Set thread, but just in an earlier timeframe. Very curious from both a historical and numismatic perspective.

RichieURich · May 23, 2008 2:20PM

Are you wearing a smoking jacket or a non-smoking smoking jacket?

I believe you just wrote to the Mint and enclosed the proper payment. You could order individual coins, minor sets (cent and nickel), silver sets, or gold sets, or any combination thereof. I don't know about the packaging, perhaps one of the others on the Forum can fill you in on that.

bigmansam88 · May 23, 2008 2:28PM

I recall a former thread stating that proof morgans were sent in yellow envelopes

and then many of them were just put away, which is why most of them have

dark toning and exhibit no signs of circulation.

OneCent · May 23, 2008 2:33PM

<< <i>Are you wearing a smoking jacket or a non-smoking smoking jacket?

>>

Definitely a smoking jacket, after all the year is 1898 and we are at least 88 years before smoking became non-PC. I do, however, appreciate the non-smoking smoking™ jacket.

Thanks for your comments!

direwolf1972 · May 23, 2008 2:44PM

Have you seen the sweet set on Heritage from 2005?

1893 Proof set with original papers

OneCent · May 23, 2008 2:51PM

<< <i>Have you seen the sweet set on Heritage from 2005?

1893 Proof set with original papers >>

Wicked!!! Intact for 102 years and pedigreed to the original owner. A true treasure on a variety of levels, not to mention the PR68 Barber Half.

bigmansam88 · May 23, 2008 2:56PM

That is a crazy nice proof set. I can't believe that it remained intact for so many years.

mrearlygold · May 23, 2008 3:00PM

Dang, missing the gold proofs

illini420 · May 23, 2008 7:15PM

Very cool 1893 set!! Were the coins just floating loose in that envelope???

GFourDriver · May 23, 2008 9:54PM

25,300% profit.......not bad even spread out over 115 yrs.

I still don't think I would have parted with it though.

speety · May 23, 2008 10:38PM

Here's an 1876 proof set. Seems like it was probably kept together over the years, or very, very well matched!

LanLord · May 23, 2008 10:57PM

Simple process back in 1898

You opened the USmint website LBW.usmint.com {Little Bitty Web}

Of course, you had to use your dialup modem because DSL wasn't available in your area yet, dialup speeds at that time were 9.6 baud

On your monochrome text mode monitor you had to order single PROOF coins one at a time, then you paid using your UnionExpress credit card.

roadrunner · May 24, 2008 2:36AM

A local dealer friend of mine purchased an original 1900 proof set 3-4 years ago from the family of the original purchaser. The set had the original thick white paper wrappers that each coin was folded in as well as the original US Mint envelope the housed all of the coins. From the mint brochure that was included, it would seem that obtaining such a set was as simple as mailing off a letter with payment included. The price of a standard 6 coin 1900 PF set was around $3 ($2.75 to $3.75) as I recall from the paperwork. The original buyer of this set also wanted 2 additional sets of minor coins (cent and nickel) and ended up with a 10 pc orig set. It was intriguing to see 3 nearly-identically toned magenta and gold toned 80% RED PF66 RB Indian cents from the same source. The overal set was graded by NGC as 65-66. I owned the set for about 2 years...and do regret selling it for $14.5K in 2006 at the summer Baltimore show.

If you wanted to add the gold coins, they did not cost much over face value - approx 10% I believe....and obviously few people could afford them. And I believe they could be bought individually since individual prices were listed. The standard 6 pc set was one option and 2 coin minor (copper and nickel) sets were another. Order as many as you liked. I don't recall if you could get just the 4 silver coins, but I don't think it was option. But for 25c to 50c more why not get the whole set.

roadrunner

RWB · May 24, 2008 3:14AM

Until about 1907 the Philadelphia Mint kept a list of proof set purchasers and sent them a card notifying them when the sets were available. That stopped after the mint was inundated with correspondence about the Saint-Gaudens coins in 1907-08. Mint HQ also changed policy and prohibited coinage of proofs until the same denomination had been struck for circulation. (Avoided the creation of “proof only” rarities.)

Thousands of collectors still wrote the Philadelphia requesting minor and silver sets. See Renaissance of American Coinage 1909-1915 for the interesting story of collector Giles Anderson and his fight for 1909 Lincoln proofs.

firstmint · May 24, 2008 5:35AM

In my book "Henry Voigt and Others, Involved with America's Early Coinage", on p. 176, I have a picture and a probable explanation of a 6 piece US Proof set, along with the Deluxe presentation case for Mary Margaret Reich, which is dated August 9, 1898.

It is one of less than 3 known cases of presentation proof sets with a woman's name mentioned either on or in the case.

Cases were most likely made at jewelry stores or eyeglasses manufactures in Philadelphia.

This proves that (at least for this particular year) the proof coins were not always sold individually.

Copies of the Henry Voigt book are available by checking the website in the tagline.

Let's Suppose the Year is 1898 and...

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