# US Coin Collectors: Commemoratives

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coin-collectors-commemoratives/983691>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 7, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coin-collectors-commemoratives/983691 "2023-05-07T03:03:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coin-collectors-commemoratives/983691/1 "2023-05-07T03:03:17Z")

</div>

Are US Commemorative coins worth buying, especially if a seller may not know what he has and is selling like $50 under Red Book value? Or, is it better to spend my money on US Mint Silver Proof Sets? (Also: Is there a difference between a Mint Set and a Proof Set?)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coin-collectors-commemoratives/983691/2 "2023-05-13T01:37:55Z")

</div>

A mint set contains uncirculated coins that have been taken from that mint’s regular production run. A proof set, IIRC, uses specially polished blanks that are struck on special presses in a limited run. A proof set is priced higher than a mint set, and should bring a higher price when you sell it.

I collected coins for many years, and when I went to sell them I couldn’t get anything more than the melt value, even for my uncirculated coins. IMHO, there are many reasons to collect coins, but as an investment is not one of them.