2008 Mint Set Sales to Start Soon
Saturday July 19, 2008
The 2008 Uncirculated Mint Sets go on sale at the U.S. Mint next Wednesday, July 30. The Mint Set consists of all 14 (more or less) circulating coins from both business strike production Mints (Denver and Philadelphia) for a total of 28 coins. Although the Mint hasn't announced what the price will be yet, last year's set was $22.95 so I would expect that it would stay about the same. I am telling you about the impending sale of these coins early because the 2007 Uncirculated Sets will be taken off sale once the 2008's go up. The mintage thus far for the 2007's has been one of the lower ones seen in recent years, with only 892,000 sets noted so far this year in the weekly Numismatic News "Mint Statistics" column. In comparison, the 2004 Uncirculated Mint Set, with a mintage of 842,507, has a Red Book value of $75 already. Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results, and with more than a week left in which to buy the 2007 sets, anything can happen, but I still think this will turn out to be a better year, price-wise.
One thing that really irks me about these sets, though, is the confusing name the U.S. Mint gives them. The coins are actually not "Uncirculated" in the sense that collectors use the term, which means, "not circulated" and which clearly implies a business strike, or circulation-strike coin (as opposed to a Proof coin.) The coins in today's "Uncirculated" Mint Sets actually have a burnished finish, what collectors are calling a "Satin Finish." It would save our community a lot of confusion if the Mint would call the coins something other than what they are not, which is "Uncirculated." I believe the reason the Mint uses this term is that it is the term that has always been used to describe the annual circulation set, and that was great when the coins were actual circulation quality coins. But in 2005, the Mint changed the finish on the coins in these sets, but never changed the name of the set to match the change in finish. The Mint spends a great deal of time, effort, and expense doing marketing research to determine just what people want and don't want, and yet the Mint can sometimes be curiously naive about collector interests at times, even though I'd like to think that collectors form the core market for specialty Mint products such as Mint Sets. (Of course, the average taxpayer is the core market for the Mint's overall function, producing the nation's coinage.) So, if anybody at the Mint is reading this, would you please consider changing the marketing language of the annual "Uncirculated" sets to something more appropriate to help end the confusion between what collectors consider to be a grade of coin (Uncirculated) and a type of finish (Business Strike, Satin Finish, Burnished, etc.)
I have always been a fan of the annual Mint Sets sold by the U.S. Mint. I have fond childhood memories of getting the year's Proof Set for Christmas, and the annual Uncirculated Set for my birthday. Mint Sets make outstanding gifts for children, and they are almost always appreciated by adults, too, especially those non-collector friends who are tough to buy gifts for. When you want to do something really special for someone, buy them the Proof Set for their birth year!
One thing that really irks me about these sets, though, is the confusing name the U.S. Mint gives them. The coins are actually not "Uncirculated" in the sense that collectors use the term, which means, "not circulated" and which clearly implies a business strike, or circulation-strike coin (as opposed to a Proof coin.) The coins in today's "Uncirculated" Mint Sets actually have a burnished finish, what collectors are calling a "Satin Finish." It would save our community a lot of confusion if the Mint would call the coins something other than what they are not, which is "Uncirculated." I believe the reason the Mint uses this term is that it is the term that has always been used to describe the annual circulation set, and that was great when the coins were actual circulation quality coins. But in 2005, the Mint changed the finish on the coins in these sets, but never changed the name of the set to match the change in finish. The Mint spends a great deal of time, effort, and expense doing marketing research to determine just what people want and don't want, and yet the Mint can sometimes be curiously naive about collector interests at times, even though I'd like to think that collectors form the core market for specialty Mint products such as Mint Sets. (Of course, the average taxpayer is the core market for the Mint's overall function, producing the nation's coinage.) So, if anybody at the Mint is reading this, would you please consider changing the marketing language of the annual "Uncirculated" sets to something more appropriate to help end the confusion between what collectors consider to be a grade of coin (Uncirculated) and a type of finish (Business Strike, Satin Finish, Burnished, etc.)
I have always been a fan of the annual Mint Sets sold by the U.S. Mint. I have fond childhood memories of getting the year's Proof Set for Christmas, and the annual Uncirculated Set for my birthday. Mint Sets make outstanding gifts for children, and they are almost always appreciated by adults, too, especially those non-collector friends who are tough to buy gifts for. When you want to do something really special for someone, buy them the Proof Set for their birth year!
Comments
I am still annoyed at the mint that I can no longer buy a product that they sold for about 50 years - business strike unc coins.
The satin coins are a gimmick.