Do you purchase coins or medals from the U.S. Mint? Looking back, I realize that my purchases from the Mint began early in my coin collecting life. My father and I ordered a couple of proof sets in 1955. The sets we received consisted of five coins each, with each coin in its own small plastic bag, with the five bags stapled together at the top. Each set came in a small cardboard box. Later in 1955, the sets were placed in what was called a “flat pack.” Before being placed in flat packs, the coins often toned either beautifully or badly depending on how you feel about toning on coins. I’m sure we bought more proof sets after 1955, but I don’t remember which ones or when we stopped purchasing them.
My initial thought about my history of buying coins directly from the Mint was that such purchases were few and far between. In fact, at first, I remembered only one other such purchase, the 2009 Ultra High Relief double eagle. I paid $1,194 for it, and it now resides in a PCGS slab with a grade of MS70. If you’ve ever seen one of these, it won’t surprise you to learn that I love it!
As I continued to search my memory for Mint purchases, I remembered that I bought annual proof sets to give to my children every Christmas. Although I had to buy some of these
