United States Mint coin sets
Encyclopedia
The United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...

 has released annual collections of coins
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....

 most years since 1936.

United States Mint 50 State Quarters Proof Set

With the launch of the 50 State Quarters
50 State Quarters
The 50 State Quarters program is the release of a series of circulating commemorative coins by the United States Mint. Between 1999 and 2008, it featured each of the 50 U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter....

 Program in 1999, the Mint began marketing proof sets of just the five quarters released in the given year. These sets are essentially a reduced version of the regular issue proof sets and the packaging maintained the same blue color scheme, but came in a smaller box and different certificate of authenticity
Certificate of Authenticity
A certificate of authenticity is a seal or small sticker on a proprietary computer program, t-shirt, jersey, or any other memorabilia or art work, especially in the world of computers and sports, it is commonly a seal on paper authenticating a specific art work which and is made to demonstrate...

. This collection ceased with the resolution of the program in 2008. These sets are usually denoted as the 5-piece sets from a given year. All issues were produced at the San Francisco Mint
San Francisco Mint
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady,...

.

United States Mint 50 State Quarters Silver Proof Set

The 50 State Quarters Proof Sets produced with the five quarters produced that year in 90% silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 and again were the same as the year's Silver Proof Set but in a reduced red packaging and unique certificate of authenticity. All issues were produced at the San Francisco Mint
San Francisco Mint
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady,...

.

United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set

The America the Beautiful Quarters program began in 2010 as a continuation of the 50 State Quarters and D.C. and Territories programs, allowing each state a representation in the nation's coinage. These sets are reduced versions of the United States Mint Proof Set and the packaging maintains the same burnt-orange color scheme, but came in a smaller box and different certificate of authenticity. All issues were produced at the San Francisco Mint
San Francisco Mint
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady,...

.

United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set

The 50 State Quarters Proof Sets are also produced in 90% silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 and again are the same as the year's Silver Proof Set but in a reduced navy-blue packaging and unique certificate of authenticity. All issues were produced at the San Francisco Mint
San Francisco Mint
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady,...

.

United States Mint District of Columbia & U.S. Territories Quarters Proof Set

Upon completion of the 50 State Quarters Program, it was decided to honor Washington D.C. and the U.S. Overseas Territories
Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...

 in a similar manner. The District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarters allowed for the minting of six designs in 2009 and these were sold as a set. All were produced at the San Francisco Mint.

United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Proof Set

With the launch of the Presidential $1 Coin Program, four dollar coins have been released each year since 2007 - each depicting a serving U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. This set is the sleeve of dollar coins from regular issue mint sets on its own with reduced packaging and a different certificate of authenticity. The program is scheduled to go until 2016 when all currently eligible presidents have been honored.

United States Prestige Coin Set

Released from 1983 to 1997, Prestige Sets contain proof strikings of the regular issue coinage in addition to the commemorative dollar and half dollar from the year of release
Modern United States commemorative coins
The United States resumed minting commemorative coins in 1982 for the 250th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Modern commemoratives tend to be restricted to events, buildings and personalities of national or international importance...

. The coins are presented in a book-like case with a special laminated enclosure of a different design than the standard proof set sleeves. This collection was marketed to give consumers a more "premium" option.

United States Mint Proof Set

This collection encompasses every coin design produced by the Unites States Mint in a single year. This is the longest-running series of coins produced by the Mint and comprises coins prepared using proof striking
Proof coinage
Proof coinage means special early samples of a coin issue, historically made for checking the dies and for archival purposes, but nowadays often struck in greater numbers specially for coin collectors . Many countries now issue them....

 methods. The Mint packages the specially prepared coins in hard plastic cases meant for long-term preservation.

All releases from 1936 to 1972 included the cent, nickel, dime, quarter, and half dollar from that year. The first proof sets through 1964 were minted at the Philadelphia Mint
Philadelphia Mint
The Philadelphia Mint was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a continental national mint a main priority after the ratification of the Constitution of...

. There were two official releases in 1942: one regular five coin set and a set including a silver wartime nickel. United States currency was debased beginning in 1965, but the sets continued under the name United States Mint Proof Set.Production was moved to the San Francisco branch in 1968, and all subsequent issues bear coins with an "S" mint mark. In 1973, the Eisenhower dollar
Eisenhower Dollar
The Eisenhower dollar is a $1 coin issued by the United States government from 1971–1978...

 was added to the collection. Sets from 1975 will have a dual-date 1776-1976 quarter, half-dollar, and dollar
United States bicentennial coinage
The United States Bicentennial coinage was a set of circulating commemorative coins, consisting of a quarter, half dollar and dollar struck by the United States Mint in 1975 and 1976...

 as none of those coins were ever produced with a 1975 date. The Susan B. Anthony dollar
Susan B. Anthony dollar
The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a United States coin minted from 1979 to 1981, and again in 1999. It depicts women's suffrage campaigner Susan B. Anthony on a dollar coin. It was the first circulating U.S. coin with the portrait of an actual woman rather than an allegorical female figure such as...

 replaced the Eisenhower in 1979. The 1981 mint sets were the only method of obtaining a Susan B. from that year, though many have slipped into circulation. With the cease in minting of dollar coins, the regular issue Proof Set for 1982 included a brass token. From 1983 until 1998, the annual United States Proof set resumed to only issuing the penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and half-dollar.

With the introduction of the 50 State Quarters
50 State Quarters
The 50 State Quarters program is the release of a series of circulating commemorative coins by the United States Mint. Between 1999 and 2008, it featured each of the 50 U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter....

 program in 1999, the Mint began issuing all five quarters released from that year with the already established denominations, thus creating a nine-coin set split across two sleeves. The single sleeve containing just the quarters was also sold separately. The following year, the Sacagawea dollar was included in the regular set, bringing the coin count to ten. The Westward Journey Series of nickels saw the introduction of eleven coin sets in 2004 and 2005 featuring both nickels, the penny, dime, half dollar, golden dollar and all five quarters. The regular issue returned to ten coins in 2006, but the Presidential Dollar Coin Program necessitated an expansion to three sleeves with a total of fourteen coins from 2007 to 2008. In 2009, another sleeve was added to facilitate the pennies minted for the Lincoln Bicentennial collection. The pennies produced for the proof sets that year were special in that their composition saw a return to the 95% copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 alloy employed when the Lincoln cent was first introduced. This set peaked the coin count at eighteen as it also included that year's set of District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarters. The regular release returned to a count of fourteen coins across three sleeves in 2010 and the individual sleeves of America the Beautiful Quarters or Presidential Dollar Coins sold separate.

United States Mint Silver Proof Set

Beginning in 1992, the Mint began producing proof sets with the cupronickel
Cupronickel
Cupronickel or copper-nickel or "cupernickel" is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. Cupronickel is highly resistant to corrosion in seawater, because its electrode potential is adjusted to be neutral with regard to seawater...

 denomination replaced by specimens struck with the pre-debasement composition: coin silver, or 90% Ag
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 and 10% Cu
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

. All of the quarters released in any one year of a series since 1999 are also struck in silver. Otherwise, these sets are largely similar to the standard United States Mint Proof Set, but are packaged with a red color scheme and different certificate of authenticity.

United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set

The Uncirculated Sets, or Mint Sets, contain coins prepared on special presses and sealed at the Mint in a plastic blister-pack as of 2011. They are usually sold in sets of two - one for each branch of production.
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