Coins - Prestige Sets

The United States Mint began producing the Prestige Sets in 1983 and continued the program through 1997 missing only one year, 1985.

First, what does "prestige" mean? From the dictionary, "prestige" means widely recognized prominence, distinction or importance. Therefore, a Prestige Set is an Important Proof Set, a Prominent Proof Set or a Distinctive Proof Set.

The Prestige Sets contain the same five proof coins as in a standard proof set plus one or two commemorative coins. If only one commemorative coin, it will be a silver dollar from the commemorative dollars for that year. If two additional coins, there will also be a commemorative half dollar. In most Prestige sets, the commemorative half dollar will be a cupro-nickel clad coin.

The popularity and the populations of the Prestige Sets varied significantly from year to year.

All of the sets are "prestigious," but the latter years along with their lower mintages  enjoy more value on the current market.

Plus, these two charts show how supply and demand influence the market. Too much supply (for example, 1988) keeps the value low, whereas small supply (1996) achieves a much higher value. 

Through their lifecycle, the Prestige Sets honored the Olympics (1983, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996),  the Statue of Liberty Centennial (1986), the U.S. Constitution Bicentennial (1987), the Bicentennial of the U.S. Congress (1989), the Centennial of Eisenhower's Birth (1990), the Mount Rushmore Golden (50 years) Anniversary (1991), the Bill of Rights (1993), the World Cup Tournament (1994), the Civil War Battlefield Preservation (1995) and the U.S. Botanic Garden (1997). 

As you can see in the pictures on the individual Prestige Set pages, the Mint's packaging added to the "prestige" of the Prestige Sets.  But now, over ten years after the program ended, nine of the fourteen different years have more value as their piece parts rather than as a Prestige Set.

In other words, the values for the five coin proof set, the commemorative half dollar (if the set has one) and the commemorative silver dollar add up to a greater number than the current market value for the full Prestige Set for those nine years.

But to a collector and a numismatist, the worth of the coins does not equate just to their monetary value on the coin market. Their true worth also includes their beauty, their historical significance and the enjoyment they provide to their collectors.

Plus, if people disassemble the sets to sell them for their individual parts, that reduces the set population. Unfortunately, there is no way to measure how many true, original sets remain. But, if demand exceeds supply, the prices will adjust upward accordingly.

We've added web pages showing the various sets. Browse through the individual pages to view the beauty of the different Prestige Sets, their packaging and the commemorative coin or coins included in each.

Click on the picture at left to access the purchase information for any of the Prestige sets