New and existing coin collectors alike love the ease and affordability of purchasing Silver Proof Sets. The five coin sets, with three of the coins struck in 90% silver, are in high demand, regardless of the price. The beautiful mirror-like surfaces in the background and the sharp details in the foreground of Proof coins are what set them apart. After selling over 1 million sets in their first year, sales in this sixth year were 605,473 sets. The coins were struck at the San Francisco Mint. Provident Metals is currently offering the 1997 US Mint Silver Proof Set for purchase online.

Highlights:

• Received in a protective hard plastic case and an outer box!
• Set contains five 1997 coins from the US Mint!
• Proof visuals.
• Unique obverse and reverse designs on each coin.
• Face values are shown in US dollars.
• Total of 605,473 proof sets were issued in 1997.
• Please note – some sets may be missing the outer envelope/sleeve/box.

The distinctive black packaging of the Silver Proof Set is unchanged from its introduction in 1992. Each coin is positioned in its own slot on the black cardboard, which is slid into a plastic lens with the word Silver printed on it. The lens is placed in a black outer box with the words United States Mint Silver Proof Set – 1997 printed in silver.

Designs

The Mint’s Silver Proof Set includes 5 coins – the Lincoln Cent and the Jefferson Nickel in their copper-nickel clad versions, and the Roosevelt Dime, Washington Quarter, and Kennedy Half Dollar in their 90% silver versions. For collectors wanting these 90% silver Proof coins, the best way to obtain them was to purchase a Silver Proof Set. The 90% silver content of the 3 coins drove the original price of the set to $21.00.

The US Mint also offered a Silver Premier Set from 1992 to 1998. The Silver Premier Set includes the same coins as the Silver Proof Set, however, they are packaged in fancier display-worthy packaging. This more ornate packaging accounted for a higher original price of $37.50.

History

Silver Proof Sets sold over 1 million sets in their introductory year. Sales remained fairly strong throughout the 1990s in spite of some competition from the modern commemorative coin program, which the US Mint expanded in 1995 and 1996. Rather than the typical 2 or 3 commemorative coins released per year, the Mint released 12 and 11 commemorative coins, respectively, in those years. These numerous extra choices for collectors of where to spend their coin collection budgets definitely had a negative impact on sales of Silver Proof Sets, particularly in 1995. Changes made to the commemorative coin program to limit the offerings each year led to only 5 commemorative coins in 1997. This allowed collectors to refocus their attention and budgets on Silver Proof Sets.

Ordering

Please contact our Provident Metals Customer Service team if you have questions, as we are available to assist you. We can be reached via phone at 800-313-3315, online using our live chat, or via our email.