Breaking Up Mint Sets

[TerrapinWill]

Need advice, input, etc......What are your thoughts on breaking up Mint Sets to have individual coins graded. I have a 1976 Mint set, and was giving consideration to having both IKE's graded, because they look pretty good. Should I have them graded, in the hopes of picking up a real gem. Same Question for 1981 Mint set....all three SBA's look real nice, so do you think it's worth breaking the set to have the SBA's graded, in the hopes of catching MS67 or something magical?

 

Please provide input.

[gmarguli]

If you think that there is something that will grade high enough to cover the cost of the mint set and the grading, then go for it. These aren't rare or expensive sets, so your downside is rather limited.

[cladking]

OK. I can believe you might have a '76 set with a couple gem dollars in it. The odds against it are pretty high, but it does happen. But an '81 set with three high grade SBA's is a virtual impossibility. Even an MS-65 SanFrancisco coin is most unusual and then two gems besides sounds hard to believe. You may be grading the coins too high. Try tilting the coins back and forth with a light source on the other side.

Are there any shallow scrapes (especially on the '81-S)? How about dings and scratches? Are the strike full with the tops of the lettering near the periphery full?

 

Don't be too critical with the grading either though. None of these coins are anywhere close to perfect so you should expect to find some problems. Compare them with at least a few other sets and if they look head over shoulders better then go ahead and submit them. If they're only really nice then there are some collectors out there who'll want them but they don't need to be slabbed at the current time.