Mint Set Changes

[SilverDollarMan]

This is a C&P....According to this article, the only normal Bison nickels have already been released and there wont be any in the mint sets. So, look for those high grade original Bison nickels to skyrocket! Can you imagine owning the only Original production Bison nickel in MS67 for either mint!? Not only that but now you have an additional 10 quarters for every year. More registry craze! And then there is all of the people with Albums, guess what, you now need more holes.

 

New finish on 2005 uncirculated sets

From Numismatic News by Peter Lindblad

When the 2005 U.S. Mint Uncirculated Coin Set is released May 31, it’ll have a different finish.

A new satin finish has been applied to the 22-coin set for the first time ever and Mint officials believe customers will notice the difference.

“With the satin finish, the light is diffused on the coin surface. It’s sort of like looking through frosted glass,” said Gloria Eskridge, associate director of sales and marketing for the Mint. “On the other surface, it was reflected like a mirror.”

The launch date for the set was pushed back from April 11 to May 31 to make sure the finish was perfected. Still, the release of the 2005 uncirculated set, priced at $16.95, comes three weeks earlier than the 2004 release date.

“We expect the satin finish uncirculated set to be very popular and we are prepared to respond to an increased demand,” said Eskridge.

The new satin finish will be applied to future uncirculated coin sets, uncirculated commemorative coins and uncirculated silver American Eagles.

The Mint hopes the new finish will provide consistency for those products and help collectors differentiate between uncirculated coins in the U.S. Mint’s uncirculated coin sets and those coins in bags and rolls that have never been circulated.

The new finish is achieved by striking blanks with chrome-plated dies. The dies are sandblasted by hand and then chrome plated to improve die life.

The process is identical to the commemorative or silver American Eagle uncirculated manufacturing process, except the sand and bead mixture is slightly finer to achieve the frosting on the coin set.

According to the Mint, this produces a more lustrous image.

Included in the set are specially struck uncirculated pieces of each of the circulating coin denominations manufactured at Denver and Philadelphia. It also has four 2005 nickels from the Westward Journey Nickel series with the new portrait of President Thomas Jefferson.

[cladking]

It will be interesting to see if the change is as big as advertised. If so it will mean a lot more work for people trying to stay current since some years nearly all the gems come from mint sets.

[Oldtrader3]

I just pre-ordered 2005 Mint Sets. The Mint states that there are (22) coins in the set, (10) quarters, (2) halves, (2) dollars, (2) dimes, (4) nickels and (2) cents. This is not a change from last year. I looks like someone is trying to promote a non-event for their personal gain on selling the nickels.

 

Now the satin finish would create another collecter variation (will it never end!). Now with the State Quarters, Lewis and clark nickels and new presidental dollar coins, and the satin finish coins, the mint will be busy creating lots of non-circulating seniorage (Assets).