Set Description
This is the first year the US Mint released a specially packaged set of coins to commemorate the birth of a child. The set contains 5 proof coins; a cent, nickel, dime, quarter and half dollar. The quarter is the El Yunque quarter from the America the Beautiful series, and was the first to be released this year. A major error occurred with this set when the Mint accidentally packaged silver Kennedy half dollars instead of the clad.
NGC decided that they would label the coins with a Birth Set pedigree from their release until the standard proof set was released on May 7, 2012. The fact that this set was pretty much overlooked by collectors, and more importantly by speculators, means that not many were sent in for grading. The extremely limited window for grading and the lack of attention should make these coins a hot commodity in the future, especially the silver Kennedy error.
Currently, NGC has not created a unique set for the Birth Set Proofs. They are considered the same as a regular proof, which is a shame. I'd like to see a Birth Set registry set created, as well as a complete proof set registry that includes the regular issue and Birth Set issue coins, including the silver Kennedy error.
Set Goals
I purchased and send in for grading 6 birth sets. I purchased 5 sets from the US Mint, and 1 set with the silver Kennedy error from eBay. After grading, I was able to get PF70 UC examples of all but the Union Shield Cent. I want to acquire an NGC graded PF70 UC cent to complete a perfect set.