Hx of US mint sets by DWLange

[EZ_E]

USA Coin Album

by David W. Lange

U.S. Mint Uncirculated Sets: An Overview

 

Though I started collecting coins from circulation in the mid-1960s, I didn't really discover the greater world of numismatics until a few years later. As the only active coin collector in the family (my older brother, like most kids, had quickly moved on to other interests), my emerging awareness of the overall hobby community came slowly. It wasn't until 1971, when my mother brought home a brochure from our bank offering collector editions of the new Eisenhower dollar for sale, that I was enrolled on the U.S. Mint's mailing list.

 

I soon discovered that the Mint offered complete, packaged sets of the current year's coinage, and I ordered my first "Uncirculated" set that year (while the Mint still uses this terminology in its literature and packaging, collectors typically call these annual offerings "mint sets"). After several years out of the spotlight, mint sets have once again become a popular item with the introduction of statehood quarters in 1999. The history of these sets is in some respects more interesting than the coins they contain, so for this month and the next I'll take a look at this long-running series.

 

Before 1947 there was no systematic method for obtaining uncirculated coins from the federal government. Collectors typically made a friend at their local bank, and this offered the prospect of obtaining fresh rolls of new coins as they came in from the sub-treasuries (after 1914 these were superseded by the federal reserve banks). Collectors could also visit or write to the various mints to obtain current coins at their face value plus the cost of postage (if the coins were to be shipped). There was no central facility for distributing collector coins, and hobbyists of the 19th and early 20th centuries had to contact each mint individually. No limit was imposed on the number of coins ordered, but good judgment usually prevailed, and collectors rarely ordered more than five pieces of any one denomination. So long as the number of requests remained few, this system worked right through the 1920s.

 

The low mintage coins of the early 1930s, however, changed the dynamics of the coin hobby forever, at least for collectors of United States coins. The slow economic activity of that period both reduced the number of coins struck and greatly slowed their distribution. The 1931-S cents and nickels, for example, were not released in quantity until 1935. The cents dated 1932-33 were likewise very difficult to obtain at the time of minting, and this only increased the number of requests being made to each mint for collector pieces. To deal with this growing demand from collectors, the Treasury Department issued a circular in 1932 that listed both current and older coins (some as far back as 1921) still available in uncirculated condition at face value plus postage. These were to be ordered directly from the Treasury, but, if the current coins of more than one mint were desired, additional postage would have to be included to cover the cost of shipping them directly from the other facilities.

 

Obviously, this open-ended directive left many collectors puzzled as to exactly how much money to send. Considerable time and correspondence must have been wasted in dealing with those who either overpaid or underpaid. Nevertheless, this system remained in effect for the next 15 years, with the Treasury's list of available coins being updated every couple of years or so.

 

The hobby of coin collecting exploded during World War II, a period when Americans were working overtime and making a lot of money that they had few ways to spend. Consumer goods were either rationed or had been discontinued altogether, leading to a boom in the entertainment and hobby industries. This heightened activity lasted through the first two or three years of peacetime, and it was not unusual for coin clubs to have more than a hundred persons at each month's meeting! The collecting of current and recent coins was in full swing, and this overwhelmed the Treasury's ability to meet collector requests through its existing system. Clearly something had to change, and the Mint's solution to this problem will be the focus of next month's column.

 

 

 

USA Coin Album

by David W. Lange

U.S. Mint Uncirculated Sets: An Overview (Part 2)

 

 

 

Beginning with the coinage of 1947, the Treasury packaged sets of all the various denominations and mints produced that year, excluding commemoratives. These were actually double sets, two examples of each issue being included so that both sides could be displayed. Mounted within plain cardboard rectangles, the effect was comparable to placing the coins in a commercial coin folder with the backing paper removed. Instead, a flap of thin paper was attached along a border of the rectangle to cover just one side of the coins, with the remaining side open for display. Each mint's coins required a separate holder, so the typical mint set prior to 1956 included three pieces. These were then sealed within a mailing envelope for shipping to the customer.

 

The price of a particular year's set was determined by the number of different issues produced with that date. Since it wasn't certain until the end of the calendar year how many denominations would be coined by each mint, that year's mint set would not be priced and offered for sale until early in the following year. Thus, the first date of issue for these pre-packaged sets, 1947, wasn't offered to collectors until 1948. With a face value of $4.46, the selling price was $4.87, a figure that reflected just the value of the coins plus the cost of packaging and postage. It was not until years later that the Treasury began viewing the sale of mint sets as anything more than a service to collectors and began charging prices that ensured it a profit.

 

From 1947 onward, collectors have not been able to order uncirculated coins of previous years or tailor their orders to acquire just those mints and denominations desired. All mint sets since that time have been pre-packaged and offered at set prices. The cardboard-mounted double sets were offered annually through the coinage year of 1958, their prices varying from year to year based on the number of pieces included in that year's coinage. In 1959, however, the Treasury replaced the double sets with single sets sealed in the same transparent plastic envelopes used since 1955 for its proof sets.

 

Beginning with the 1959 coinage, sets were offered for sale during the same calendar year and at fixed prices announced in advance. This was made possible by the U.S. Mint's commitment to produce all current denominations at each mint for inclusion in the mint sets, exclusive of the demand for circulating coinage. Since the San Francisco Mint was no longer coining, and the demand for circulating coins seemed to be rising continually, this was a logical decision that was greatly welcomed by collectors.

 

Only occasionally has the Treasury had a reason to regret this move. The first time was in 1970, when a bill to remove all silver from the half dollar was not passed until December of that year. Production of the silver-clad half dollars made since 1965 had been suspended pending the outcome of this debate, and the 1970-D half dollars made for that year's mint sets became instant rarities. In 1973, the failure of the Eisenhower dollar to gain widespread acceptance led to that year's mint set entries likewise becoming limited issues. This same scenario recurred in 1981 when the Anthony dollars bearing that date were produced only for the mint sets.

 

An unprecedented move occurred in 1987, when the U. S. Mint announced in advance that no half dollars would be coined for circulation, yet they would be included in that year's mint sets. Since it was obvious that the coining of half dollars for circulation had been unnecessary for decades, this was correctly viewed by knowledgeable persons in the hobby as a shameless gimmick to increase sales at a time when interest in mint sets was lagging. Collectors bit in a big way, and sales more than doubled those of 1986. Another sales promotion was the inclusion in the 1996 mint set of a dime struck at the West Point Mint and bearing its ‘W' mintmark, produced in honor of the Roosevelt dime's golden anniversary. This time, however, collectors were less inclined to jump at the bait. While sales were up over those of recent years, the 1996 mint set generated less excitement than anticipated.

 

Since 1947, there have been only a very few gaps in the mint set program. The resumption of proof coin sales in 1950 led Treasury officials to believe, incorrectly, that collectors would not want examples of the regular coinage anymore. Collectors complained over the lack of 1950 mint sets, and their sales resumed the following year. The nationwide coin shortage of the mid 1960s prompted a suspension in the production of proof sets and mint sets for the years 1965-67. In their place were offered what the Mint called Special Mint Sets, a hybrid coinage that was superior in appearance to normal circulating coins but not the equal of proof coins. Since the return of mint sets in 1968, the only break in their sale occurred in 1982-83 when the Mint, for reasons still unexplained, simply failed to offer them. Those able to visit any one of the Mint's facilities in person were able to buy the little known souvenir sets, which were made available for those dates.

 

David W. Lange's column USA Coin Album appears monthly in Numismatist, the official publication of the American Numismatic Association.

 

 

[michael]

neat thanks for the great information

 

michael

[spy88]

OUTSTANDING background and historical info. The various mints throughout their early history were basically viewed as "factories", turning out a product at cost with no consideration (by them) of the potential profits to be reaped by offering the same products with an added profit margin to sustain the extra time and work involved with filling collectors interests. I think they long ago, realized how much had been lost and how much could be reaped by collector sales, as we now pay a considerable premium from the face value on items they sell.

 

Anyone know where the "excess" money from all of their numismatic sales go? And does anyone know why the mint doesn't offer rolls of PROOF coins to collectors for purchase?

[EZ_E]

Anyone know where the "excess" money from all of their numismatic sales go? And does anyone know why the mint doesn't offer rolls of PROOF coins to collectors for purchase?

 

I've read before that the profits from sales are deposited in the US Treasury. I forget if the money is designated for a certain use.

 

Good question about the proofs. If the US Mint gets word of this then they may see dollars signs and start selling those. Personally, I disagree that they should do so. Proof mintage should be kept as low as feasible to encourage the secondary market.