Owner Comments:

The Mint was looking for ways to cut costs in the early 1980s, and one product that found itself on the chopping block in 1982 was the once-popular Mint set. Issued since 1947, Mint sets include an example of each coin struck for circulation at each mint. These sets have served as one of the primary sources of Uncirculated coins for collectors and they were enormously popular. More than two million sets were sold each year throughout the late 1970s through 1981. In the absence of Mint sets, a number of private companies took up the challenge of supplying demand, and thus, for 1982 and 1983, privately issued sets can be found. The other source of Uncirculated Mint set coins is Souvenir sets. After receiving a tour of a Mint, it’s not unusual that visitors should want examples of the coins struck there. The Souvenir set was designed to meet this demand. Sold primarily in Mint gift shops, it includes circulation examples of coins struck at a single mint. The problem with both Souvenir sets and privately issued sets is that the coins included seldom match the quality of Mint set coins, and are often low-end Uncirculated examples. They are also comparatively scarce. Just 15,000 Souvenir sets were made in Philadelphia in 1983 and 20,000 were made in Denver, compared to 2.9 million Mint sets in 1981. Bags and rolls of 1983 Washington quarters were rarely saved by collectors, meaning that the other obvious source for these coins is circulation. Many album sets assembled by collectors include blank spaces for this date. Collectors seeking high-quality examples face a further challenge. The 1983 Washington quarters from the Philadelphia Mint in particular tend to be heavily abraded. Production quality was low (possibly further indicative of cost-cutting at the time), and most coins are struck from late-state, heavily fatigued dies that imparted weak, mushy detail. Contact-marks and other forms of abrasion, including die burn, are common. They are typically not attractive coins. Widely known to be scarce, 1983-P quarters are worth many times the value of equivalent coins from years with Mint set examples. In fact, non-collectors are often surprised to discover that if a particularly nice Uncirculated example can be found in pocket change, it’s easily worth a hundred times its face value. Fewer than a dozen superb gem Uncirculated (MS-67) examples have been professionally certified, and these carry a price-guide value in excess of $1,000—more than 5,000 times their face value. The move to drop Mint sets was timed in concert with the re-launch of the commemorative-coinage program in 1982, which likely mitigated complaints from collectors at the time. But the complaints grew louder over time, and in response the Mint reversed their policy; they began issuing Mint sets once again in 1984 and have done so each year since. As the half dollar and dollar coin are seldom used in circulation, a few sets from subsequent years included coins that were struck for sets only and not for circulation. These inclusions, along with the role of the Mint set as the most convenient source of high-quality examples of circulating coins, have sustained the sets’ popularity and collectibility as well as their secondary-market value.

Garrett, Jeff; Schechter, Scott; Bressett, Kenneth; Bowers, Q. David (2011-03-04). 100 Greatest US Modern Coins (Kindle Locations 1675-1700). Whitman Publishing. Kindle Edition.