Decimal coin values

[David]

I like decimal coinage and I am starting to collect proof year sets I think it's great when you buy a set with a coin in that was never issued for circulation they look nice in the presentation box and in my local shop I can buy them for around £15 to £30. Now the thing is how come individual proof coins can add up to a value greater than a proof set for example in the Coin Yearbook 2010 the 1986 set is priced at £30 but the total of coins priced individually total £49 I would of thought that one price would reflect the other and that the price of a set would equal that of the individual coins or maybe be slightly higher in price for a set as it would have the box a certificate. Does anyone have any thoughts on this subject? The 1986 set I bought yesterday was £15 so I think I got a real bargain either way.

[Peckris]

I like decimal coinage and I am starting to collect proof year sets I think it's great when you buy a set with a coin in that was never issued for circulation they look nice in the presentation box and in my local shop I can buy them for around £15 to £30. Now the thing is how come individual proof coins can add up to a value greater than a proof set for example in the Coin Yearbook 2010 the 1986 set is priced at £30 but the total of coins priced individually total £49 I would of thought that one price would reflect the other and that the price of a set would equal that of the individual coins or maybe be slightly higher in price for a set as it would have the box a certificate. Does anyone have any thoughts on this subject? The 1986 set I bought yesterday was £15 so I think I got a real bargain either way.

Be careful - be very careful! I don't want to dent your enthusiasm, and modern proof sets are a nice thing to have ... but ... they are overpriced by the Mint when issued, and over-valued by Spink as a consequence. If you go to auctions, you can pick up proof sets for much less than their original issue price, e.g. half. I'm not up with current Spink prices so I couldn't comment on your dealer's pricing of £15 - £30. (If you like them and aren't looking to make a profit in the foreseeable future, then price is perhaps less of an issue).

As for singletons adding up to more than the price of a set - that's partly due to some coins being not issued as currency strikes, which raises their value to date collectors. The entire 1972 set is one such example - the only 1972 coin issued was a 25p commem so the whole set, and the individual coins, are valued higher. In other years, only one or a few denominations weren't issued so those will be higher - but only to date collectors who won't be interested in shelling out for the entire set which will therefore not reflect the higher value of singletons. Yes, it sounds confusing, but you will probably also find that even singletons are over-valued in Spink.

But collect what you enjoy, and if that's modern proof sets, go for it! (But don't forget auctions, where you can buy a whole bunch of them for around half of their Spink price. Or at least, you used to be able to.)

Edited January 26, 2013 by Peckris

[David]

I'm not collecting for profit but it's nice to know that the coins in my sets are worth more than what I paid for them using your "Check your change" there is £25 pounds individual coin value in the set I paid £15 It's a nice set of coins all preserved in it's own packaging with a certificate. Thanks for the reply.

[Gary D]

I'm not collecting for profit but it's nice to know that the coins in my sets are worth more than what I paid for them using your "Check your change" there is £25 pounds individual coin value in the set I paid £15 It's a nice set of coins all preserved in it's own packaging with a certificate. Thanks for the reply.

Think of it like this. The year x proof set costs £22.50. You are a Half Crown collector so it would cost you £22.50 to get the Half Crown. If you collected pennies again it would cost you £22.50 to get one. Would you not prefer to only pay £17.50 for a penny or Half Crown and save a fiver.

[del]

hi dave,i collect proof sets myself and its a shame when you see them getting broken up and sold individually.

happy hunting mate

[Rob]

hi dave,i collect proof sets myself and its a shame when you see them getting broken up and sold individually.

happy hunting mate

Don't worry about the supply of proof sets drying up unless there is a huge upturn in the number of collectors. You can always pick up any year fairly easily. Maybe not the first person you see, but certainly within a few table visits. It is therefore logical to cater for those who collect individual denominations. If I have duplicate year sets I will usually break the one with the worst condition packaging to provide the singletons. No qualms.

[Peckris]

hi dave,i collect proof sets myself and its a shame when you see them getting broken up and sold individually.

happy hunting mate

Don't worry about the supply of proof sets drying up unless there is a huge upturn in the number of collectors. You can always pick up any year fairly easily. Maybe not the first person you see, but certainly within a few table visits. It is therefore logical to cater for those who collect individual denominations. If I have duplicate year sets I will usually break the one with the worst condition packaging to provide the singletons. No qualms.

As I have done in the past, also without qualms.

[Accumulator]

hi dave,i collect proof sets myself and its a shame when you see them getting broken up and sold individually.

happy hunting mate

Don't worry about the supply of proof sets drying up unless there is a huge upturn in the number of collectors. You can always pick up any year fairly easily. Maybe not the first person you see, but certainly within a few table visits. It is therefore logical to cater for those who collect individual denominations. If I have duplicate year sets I will usually break the one with the worst condition packaging to provide the singletons. No qualms.

As I have done in the past, also without qualms.

I'm glad someone had no qualms about breaking up the ex-Norweb 1935 set or I'd never have got my hands on the penny

[Rob]

hi dave,i collect proof sets myself and its a shame when you see them getting broken up and sold individually.

happy hunting mate

Don't worry about the supply of proof sets drying up unless there is a huge upturn in the number of collectors. You can always pick up any year fairly easily. Maybe not the first person you see, but certainly within a few table visits. It is therefore logical to cater for those who collect individual denominations. If I have duplicate year sets I will usually break the one with the worst condition packaging to provide the singletons. No qualms.

As I have done in the past, also without qualms.

I'm glad someone had no qualms about breaking up the ex-Norweb 1935 set or I'd never have got my hands on the penny

Happens all the time. I got all my Cu-Ni 1958 proofs because Colin Adams had to buy the set from the Circular for the halfcrown. He had no problem finding a willing buyer.

[David]

hi dave,i collect proof sets myself and its a shame when you see them getting broken up and sold individually.

happy hunting mate

Don't worry about the supply of proof sets drying up unless there is a huge upturn in the number of collectors. You can always pick up any year fairly easily. Maybe not the first person you see, but certainly within a few table visits. It is therefore logical to cater for those who collect individual denominations. If I have duplicate year sets I will usually break the one with the worst condition packaging to provide the singletons. No qualms.

As I have done in the past, also without qualms.

I'm glad someone had no qualms about breaking up the ex-Norweb 1935 set or I'd never have got my hands on the penny

Happens all the time. I got all my Cu-Ni 1958 proofs because Colin Adams had to buy the set from the Circular for the halfcrown. He had no problem finding a willing buyer.

I'm glad I've had this chat it would appear that collecting coin sets could be a good collectable because,

(A) people are not interested so they can be bought at fairly reasonable prices.

( The individual coin prices could total up to more than I pay for the set.

© Although they are easy to find the have low mintages and contain coins that were never in circulation.

(D) Collectors will break up sets for individual coins which could make sets scarce.

So I shall continue to collect decimal sets and proofs until I have as full a set as I can.

Thank You for the feed back.

Dave