We are pleased to offer for sale this CollecTons Keepers Set #1 through #5.
What makes the Collectons Keepers program special?
Here at CollecTons, we work hard researching coins that should be part of every collection. Our goal is to utilize our knowledge in the numismatic industry to select coins worthy of being in everyone's collection! Therefore, the CollecTons Keepers program will only feature those Coins Worth Keeping.
Each coin is hand selected and given to ANACS (America's Oldest Grading Service) for grading and authentication. The coins are then sealed in an ANACS certified proprietary slab holder for long-term storage, with our limited edition label marking it a CollecTons Keeper.
The first five CollecTons Keepers included in this starter set are:
The 1970-D Kennedy Silver Half Dollar is a rarity in and of itself as it was never released for circulation, and stands out in numismatic history due to its impact on both collectors and the coin market as a whole. It is known as a key date coin and one every serious collector should obtain.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced plans to eliminate silver from the dime and quarter in favor of a clad (copper-nickel) composition. Additionally, the silver content of the half dollar was reduced from 90% to 40%. In 1969, the Treasury sought authorization to eliminate the half dollar's silver content, changing it to the same composition as the dime and quarter. The legislation dragged on for over a year before President Richard Nixon signed a bill on December 31, 1970 to eliminate silver from the half dollar. As a result of the delay, the mint never released 1970 half dollars for circulation. The 1970 half dollars produced in Denver were released solely in mint sets. The Mint never announced that 1970 half dollars would not be struck for circulation until after mint set ordering had closed, leaving many collectors angry and disappointed, and limiting the total number of half dollars coined.With a mintage of just over 2 million the 1970-D Kennedy is considered the "key" to the series.
Today, the 1970-D is still a highly sought after modern rarity due to the low mintage and high demand, causing this key date to be worth significantly more than its value in silver.
To this date the 1996-W Roosevelt Dime is the first and only dime to ever bear the "W" mint mark. It is known as a key date coin and one every serious collector should obtain for their collection.
1996 marked the 50th anniversary of the Roosevelt Dime series. The US Mint chose to celebrate the occasion by minting a Roosevelt Dime at the West Point Mint. This was the first and only dime minted at West Point as well as one of only two copper-nickel clad coins to contain the "W" mint mark. To add to the rarity of the 1996-W dime, it was never released for circulation. The 1996-W dime was only released as an insert in the 1996 Mint Set. This distribution decision led to a very low mintage of 1.46 million.
Today, the 1996-W is still a highly sought after modern rarity due to the low mintage and high demand. It is a key date coin and essential piece to any Roosevelt Dime set.
The American Silver Eagle is the official bullion of the United States and 1986 marks the inaugural year of the coin series. It is therefore known as a key date coin and one that every serious collector should obtain for their collection.
The start of the American Silver Eagle bullion program originally came from plans in the 1970s and early 1980s to sell off silver from government stockpiles. During that time, some sell-offs occurred and caused drastic declines in the price of silver. In July of 1981, the U.S. government agreed to sell 75% of the stockpiled silver (105.1 million troy ounces) over a period of three years. In direct response to the announcement, the price of silver fell in September by 11%. As a result, Senator James A. McClure proposed an amendment to a bill that would require the U.S. government to halt all sales of silver until it could be determined that "the silver authorized for disposal is excess to the requirements of the stockpile." The bill passed and the sale of stockpiled silver was discontinued.
Senator McClure went on to write several more bills proposing that the silver be used strategically to create coins that could be sold through the mint at a premium, therefore having little to no negative effect on the price of silver. The first two proposals were never accepted, but the third finally passed. When President Ronald Reagan signed the Liberty Coin Act into law on July 9th, 1985, the American Silver Eagle was born.
The design for the obverse of the coin was taken from Adolph A. Weinman's "Walking Liberty", a design that is widely thought of as one of the most beautiful in modern United States coinage. The reverse heraldic eagle design was specifically created for the coin by John Mercanti.
Today, the 1986 Uncirculated American Silver Eagle Dollar is highly sought after. It is the first of its series and represents the start of the American Eagle Bullion program.
This 1970-S Lincoln Memorial Cent is a rare Small Date variety specimen. This variety came about due to the San Francisco Mint using two different dies to produce the cents in 1970. Large Date varieties also exist for this year. There is no record of when or why this change in die design occurred. It is speculated that both dies were used starting at the beginning of the year. It is known that the Small Date is much scarcer than the Large Date. Throughout US coin minting history there have been several examples of die changes made to alter the size of the date. There are two main reasons why the Mint would have decided to change the date size. The first reason is aesthetics. The second and more probable reason is to improve die life and production quality.
How can you tell the difference between a Large Date and a Small Date 1970-S Lincoln Cent? The differences between the two are very minor and sometimes difficult to pick out. According to the book 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins *, there are attribution clues that make it possible to identify the two varieties with accuracy:
First, look at the position of the 7. On the Small Date, the 7 is aligned with the tops of the 9 and 0. On the Large Date, the 7 is lower than the tops of the 9 and 0. This is also why the 1970-S Small Date is referred to as a "High 7".
Next, look at the word LIBERTY. On the Small Date, the word LIBERTY is usually unclear and muffled. On the Large Date, LIBERTY is crisp and clear.
Out of the three mints that produced the Lincoln Memorial Cent in 1970, San Francisco produced the least. There were a total of 690,560,004 minted in San Francisco that year. The Mint kept no records of the individual mintages of the Small and Large Date varieties. The first finds of these varieties were reported early in the year. There was some initial confusion among the numismatic community regarding these varieties. The Small and Large Date distinctions were not as clear as earlier year varieties such as the 1960 Lincoln Cent. Some numismatists considered the Small Date a result of simple die polishing and not a separate die. There were even specialists in the error / variety field that turned people away from collecting it as a legitimate variety.
Today, the 1970-S Small Date is still a highly sought after modern rarity due to the unknown mintage and high demands. It is a Key Date coin and an essential piece to any Lincoln Memorial Cent set.
In addition to being the third President of the United States and being the author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson played a key role in United States numismatics. Jefferson joined a special congressional committee in 1776 which was tasked with researching the establishment of a national coinage. He was appointed chairman of the congressional currency committee in 1782 during which time he drafted "Notes on the Establishment of a Money Unit, and of Coinage for the United States', later referred to as Notes on Coinage. In Notes on Coinage, Jefferson suggested a revolutionary system of units for US coinage, the world's first science based decimal system of weights and measures, the American decimal coinage system. Congress approved of Jefferson's system and passed it into law on July 6, 1785, laying the ground work for the United States first national coinage. Jefferson was also heavily involved in the Mint Act of 1792 which established the United States Mint and it was under his authority as Secretary of State that the first United States Mint (the Philadelphia mint) was born.
To honor all that Thomas Jefferson had done for the numismatic community and to celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth, the US Mint issued a Coin and Currency Set containing a 1994-P Jefferson Special Uncirculated Matte Finish Nickel, a 1993-P Jefferson Uncirculated Silver Dollar, and a Series 1976 $2 Federal Reserve Note. Collectors were unaware that the nickel would have a different finish than the standard 1994 business strikes, but quickly began to notice the difference. The offering was a great seller for the mint due to the demand for the one of a kind nickel. The mint had to halt the sales of the set at 167,703 because they had reached their maximum number for the silver dollar included in the collection. Congress had designated a limit of 600,000 Jefferson Silver Dollars. Between the set sales and the individual sales of the proof and uncirculated silver dollars the maximum was quickly hit. This resulted in a very low mintage for the nickel (for reference, over 722 million 1994-P nickels were minted with the standard business strike). The 1994-P Special Uncirculated has the second lowest mintage of any Jefferson nickel.
The matte finish technique had not been used since 1922. It was the first time it had been utilized on a Jefferson Nickel. Matte finish coins have a satiny dull textured appearance as opposed to a highly polished reflective surface with proof coins. This is done to showcase the details of the design. To achieve this effect the mint will either sandblast or acid treat the dies. This gives the dies a rougher finish. The coins are then struck multiple times to bring out crisp details of the design..
Today, the 1994-P Jefferson Special UNC Matte Finish Nickel is still a highly sought after modern rarity due to the low mintage and high demands. It is a Key Date coin and an essential piece to any Jefferson Nickel set.
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