Description
Each year, the United States Mint produces coin sets for the millions of coin collectors who love this fascinating hobby. “Mint” sets contain normal “made for circulation” coins from both the Philadelphia and Denver mints, and typically contain one of each type of coin minted that year, from each of those two mints. The coins are in brand new, “mint” condition and are sealed in protective packaging. “Proof” sets contain one of each coin minted that year, and the coins are minted by a special minting process that gives them a very sharp strike and often deeply mirrored surfaces. In prior years these “proof” coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint, but in later years they were struck at the San Francisco Mint and feature the “S” mint mark. Proof sets in the past were packaged in small, square cardboard boxes, followed by cellophane panels inside of manila envelopes, and then in hard plastic cases inside of outer cardboard boxes.
Up through and including 1964, when our circulating dimes, quarters and half dollars were made of 90% silver, proof sets of course contained 90% silver coins as well. No proof sets were produced at all from 1965 thru 1967, when the government instead produced “Special Mint Sets” where the coins had a “prooflike” finish, and the Kennedy Half Dollar coins were made of 40% silver. When production of proof sets resumed in 1968, all coins were copper or copper-nickel excpet the Kennedy Half Dollar, which contained 40% silver. This was the case through 1970. After 1970, there was no silver at all in US proof sets for a number of years.
In 1992, the US Mint introduced Silver Proof Sets in addition to the “Clad” proof sets they were already producing. The silver proof sets included a dime, quarter and half dollar struck from 90% silver, and those coins were produced to the exact same standards as their circulating counterparts of 1964 and earlier. These silver proof sets were, and continue to be very popular with the public, and they come with their complete, original US Mint packaging along with a Certificate of Authenticity from the US Mint. The 1992 Silver Proof Set is from the first year the Mint produced a silver proof set after the end of our circulating silver coinage in 1964. Order yours today!
