At the end of WWII, many industries in the US were starting to come back to life. The auto industry, something we have come to think of as ongoing and unstoppable was still in its hibernation, and would not to return until 1948. The people of the United States were starting to recover from the sacrifices of war and leisure was again returning to their priorities.

Among the more popular of these leisure activities was coin collecting. The United States Mint had not produced coinage of any kind for purposes other than commerce since 1942 and the idea of producing coins with collectors in mind was once again an option. In the past, when coins were made for collectors, the Mint produced beautiful proof coins as an example of the minter’s art and although these were very popular, it had become common knowledge that many people assembled sets with regular circulation coins from each mint and year as their primary focus.

So in 1947, the US Mint set out to satisfy these collectors and produce sets of coins that included examples of each denomination and Mint for sale in a single package. As with any new product, it was only over time that they developed into the Mint Sets that we have all come to know. These first sets were packaged in a simple cardboard holder that resembles a Whitman folder style book. Only one side of the coin was visible and with this in mind, the Mint included 2 of each denomination from each Mint, theoretically displaying an obverse and a reverse of each coin. I say theoretically because this wasn't always the case and some sets were issued with either both obverses showing in some cases, or two reverses.

The sets were backed with paper and the combination of the paper and cardboard made for a very inexpensive package, and as such presented an excellent value to collectors. The 1947 set, for example, featured a total of 28 coins and had a face value of $4.46 at an issue price of $4.87. A whopping profit of 41¢ for the Mint and after postage and packaging, they likely broke about even.

12,600 sets were sold that first year of 1947 and the Mint considered this a success. In 1948, they decided to charge only marginally more, upping the issue price 5¢ to $4.92 and in 1949, the issue price was upped to $5.45. Their popularity was clearly growing with sales of over 20,000 sets.

In 1950, the Mint decided to return to Proof coinage and offered Proof Sets for the first time since 1942 with beautifully struck set of coins packaged in pliofilmsleeves housed in a cardboard box and as they returned to proof coinage, the US Mint decided to forgo the issuance of Mint Sets in the 1950 calendar year.

My intuition tells me that although the return of proof coinage was popular, collectors were unhappy with the absence of mint sets in 1950 and in 1951, the Mint decided to return to issuing the sets of circulation coins in addition to proof sets. They discovered that they could make larger profits from selling both than they could from either alone, a trend that they have continued exploiting to this very day.

The Mint sets of 1951-1954 were the largest of all of the double Mint sets, containing 30 coins in all, and selling for over $6 each. They contained $5.46 in face value as Cents, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters and Half Dollars were minted at all 3 Mints during these years. In 1955, the San Francisco Mint shut down most of its coining operations, but the demand for the sets ballooned to their largest of the era with sales of 49,656 sets. Sales would reach their high water mark in 1958 breaking the 50k mark with sales of 50,314 sets.

One of the more interesting facts about these sets is the way that they reacted to the packaging, in a literal sense. The side of the coins that faced the air toned over time and most of these coin show an even mottled toning on this exposed side only. The opposite side reacted strongly with the paper and produced some of the greatest toning of all 20th century coins.

IMHO, this is where you learn something as a collector about toning and its value. When most people start out in this hobby, they pursue blast white, pristine examples of their coins, but the coins from these sets are not only beautiful in their own way, the presence of that weird toning adds value to the coins as it is nearly impossible to reproduce, and just about guarantees that the coins are undisturbed and have not been cleaned. Most examples of these coins bring nice premiums, which to the novice is counter-intuitive, but if you think about it, you should want and should pay extra for coins that are in original condition. These coins are obvious as to their originality.

With that said, I want to discuss how collectible these sets are and the answer is that novices should probably not attempt to collect them with any premium in mind. This is to say that the sets are often re-assembled from other non-Mint Set coins due to the fact that the packaging has no seal of any kind. This also makes them nearly impossible to authenticate as original. When buying or selling an original double Mint set, huge premiums are usually involved and given the inability to authenticate their originality, it makes it difficult to justify the premium and even harder to sell the sets on later.

The Mint started sealing the coins in flat packs in 1959 and this is where most Mint Set collectors are apt to begin. I personally think that the double Mint sets are really cool, that they are unique, but not something that can be practically pursued anymore. They are a great learning tool, however, and something that you should seek out if you have the opportunity to see one that you can be relatively sure is original.