Week # 119 - Who's the lucky one??

[Danielle C.]

QUESTION:Only 8,795 proof sets were sold in 1939, but the mintage of proof 1939 half dollars is 8,808 pieces. How is this possible?

 

 

First post with the correct answer wins a copy of David Langes book The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels second edition!!

 

Don't forget, we also draw for a runner-up prize from all remaining posts with a correct answer.

 

Good Luck!

 

 

 

REMINDER: The Numisma-Quest ends/ended on Saturday at midnight EST. Entries after that time will not be valid. See the Trivia Info post for more details.

 

 

When you post your answer, only the administrators can see it. Stop back each Monday. We will make all the posts visible and announce the winners.

[Hoot]

Proof coins in 1939 weren't sold as complete sets (as they are now). Collectors could specify the coins that they wanted, and apparently fewer half dollars were sold than partial or complete sets ordered.

 

Hoot

[reid1836]

Mintage of proof walking liberty halves plus matte proof New Rochelle commemorative halves.

[truthteller]

The proof quarter of 1939 had a mintage of 8795, so that limited the proof sets to that amount

 

 

TRUTH

[ziggy29]

Hmmm... an extra 13 coins. Perhaps they were used in the "13 Pavilions" at the 1939 World's Fair in New York?

[JamminJ]

Only 8,795 quarters we're made in 1939 so this sets the upper limit on complete sets.

 

-JamminJ

[chrisfuccione]

Because you could buy individual pieces and not the whole set.To Illustrate this I took the mintage from 2004 Red book Pg. 68 and From page 201 of March 1940 NUMISMATIST I am taking the mintage of individual pieces

 

year sets c n d q h

1936 3,837 5569 4420 4130 3837 3901

1937 5,542 9320 5769 5756 5542 5728

1938 8,045 14734 19365 8728 8045 8152

1939 8,795 13520 12535 9321 8795 8808

 

Also I am questioning if 8,795 is the number of sets minted and not the number of sets sold. See 2004 Red Book pg 68 and WALTER BREEN'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF UNITED STATE AND COLONIAL PROOF COINS 1772-1977 pg 227. They both refer to that number as the mintage number not the number sold.

 

CHRIS

[TJ]

13 sets were buried in a time capsule at the 1939 World's Fair?

[Numbers-migration]

Because they made 13 more half dollars than they did for other proof issues that year.

[RGT]

I believe that at that time proof coins were sold individually. The total number of sets is reported as the lowest mintage of each denomination, which happened to be the quarter that year.

[AEATON-migration]

How about shrinkage - 13 pieces lifted from the mint

[Danielle C.]

QUESTION:

 

Only 8,795 proof sets were sold in 1939, but the mintage of proof 1939 half dollars is 8,808 pieces. How is this possible?

 

ANSWER:

 

From 1936 through 1942 collectors could order individual proof coins of any denomination.

 

Congratulations Hoot you win AGAIN! Your prize is Dave Langes book The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels.

 

 

The runner-up this week is RGT - Your prize is The U.S. Rare Coin Handbook.

 

Thanks for playing. - See you next week.

[Hoot]

Oh Dear, I believe I'll get accused of stalking again!

 

But it was great FUN!

 

Will Dave sign the book? I hope so!

 

Thank you Danielle and NGC!

 

Hoot