Are US Mint Sets a Good Investment?
I often get asked the question of whether US Mint Sets
are a good investment. When it comes to investment advice,
advisors are a dime a dozen. That said, the following
information is mostly my opinion and should be taken as
such, just like other advisors, a dime a dozen.
Over the years, there have been many companies that have
hyped coins as a solid investment. Many have been wrong. People believe that
merely buying coins from the Mint ensure that the value will increase, and in
fact, US Mint advertising, used to proclaim that buying US Mint sets was an
investment in the future. Nothing could be further from the truth.
So, are US Mint Sets a good investment? That answer is
actually more complicated than you might think. In order to answer that
question, we will reference the chart below. Let’s take a moment to explain how
the chart is organized. The first column is just a counter and second and third
columns are obvious. The fourth column labeled “Issue Price” is the price the
US Mint sold these sets for that year. The next column labeled “Current Value”
is the value listed in the Jan 2011 issue of Coins Magazine. If you know
anything about the prices listed in most coin magazines, the Red Book and other
sources for coin prices, they are almost always way more than what you can sell
those sets for and even higher than what you can buy them for from many
dealers. So when you think about coin prices, dealers have a buy price and a
sell price, just like any other business.
So let’s look at the first 12 rows of the chart, basically
US Mint Sets from1947 through 1958. If you had bought US Mint Sets when the US
Mint began bundling Mint State coins, the answer would be a resounding yes.
These sets have increased in value considerably. Also, look closely at the
mintage of these sets. As you can see, very few of them were produced and even
fewer of them exist today as they may have been lost or broken up. Consequently
an original set from those years is indeed rare. Early Mint Sets had very low
mintages, and as you know, low mintage items are usually worth more than their
high mintage counterparts.
If you bought mint sets from 1959 through 1964, the answer
would still be yes. After that however, maybe not so much. The 1959 through
1964 sets are worth well beyond their original issue price mostly due to the
rise in silver.
Since most of us were not around, or did not collect coins
when the US Mint began making Mint Sets, let’s focus more on what I would
consider the “Modern Age” of mint sets. This would be 1965 to present because
1965 was the first year that total mint sets exceeded 2 million and the first
year without 90% silver coins.
The current value of these sets is not that much higher
than the original price from the Mint. The offer price from the dealer in Coin
World is below the original Mint price in many cases. The glaring exception to
that is the 1970 set. This one sticks out because the only Unc 1970 half
dollars available are from Mint Sets. No 1970 half dollars were released for
circulation. Additionally, the 1970 D half dollar contains silver.
As we continue through the 70’s, 80’s and most of the 90’s,
the current listed retail value of the Mint Sets is below the original Mint
price, clearly indicating that investing in Mint Sets is a poor choice. If you
are a serious coin collector, this should not be a big deal as you bought the
coins for your collection not investment value. Not all “Modern Age” mint sets
have lost value, just most.
One of the primary reasons for the depressed values in US
Mint sets is that dealer inventories are loaded with them. There is not much
demand for sets from the 70’s and on and like everything, value is based on
supply and demand. In the case of many of these sets, there is more than ample
supply and very little demand.
One thing to note, my analysis is based on typical common
sets with no errors. There have been a few sets released where there has been
an error such as a missing mint mark and these sets have skyrocketed in value.
Your chance of getting one of these though is very slim. Again, the scarcer it
is, the higher the value. And the scarcer it is, the less likely you will just
happen upon one.
So, are US Mint Sets a good investment? Looking at the
historical numbers over the years, I would say no. But like anything related to
coin collecting, if you are in it purely for price accumulation, there are
better investment alternatives. If you are now looking to begin collecting Mint
Sets, the data would indicate that you should be able to pick up these sets for
around what they might have originally sold for.
Since so many mint sets sell for well below the original
Mint price, this begs the question of whether they are worth more broken up?
And of course, there is no easy answer. As you might guess, the coins in those
earlier sets are likely worth more together. But that depends a great deal on
condition. Each coin will be judged on its own merit, and better/higher grade
coins will sell for much more.
If you look at the more modern Mint Sets, I think that
breaking them up with the thought that they will sell for more as individual
coins is also a tough sell. Using my own research and using eBay as a guide
would indicate that many of them that are listed do not sell. If you are a
dealer, the time and energy to list, relist, and then pack individual coins that
sell for less than a dollar or maybe for a couple dollars does not seem like a
good use of time.
So with this data, you can now decide for yourself if
buying US Mint Sets is a good investment. For many of them, they have gone down
in price. So buying from the Mint was not a good idea. But now you can get
them at a discount. So you decide.
Keith Scott has been a collector for over 30 years. His website has
US coins for sale. He also writes
Coin Collecting Articles for fun. Visit his websites for a history of US coins,
metal market updates and news about your favorite coins.
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