2001-S 25c Clad Quarters Proof Set, 5 Coins PR

Original Packaging: Two similar holders were required to house the ten coins, and they differed only in their inserts and the selection of coins included. Each holder consisted of a two­-­piece, transparent plastic casing with frosted borders. This held a blue fiberboard insert featuring a background graphic of the American flag and holed appropriately for the coins it contained. One holder housed the cent, nickel, dime, half dollar, and dollar, while the other contained the five statehood quarters for 2001. The two holders were stacked and slipped into a white cardboard box. This box was printed primarily in blue and featured a head shot of the Statue of Liberty, along with starred upper and lower borders, the U.S. Mint’s 50 State Quarters® logo, and the words UNITED STATES MINT PROOF SET 2001.

The five­-­piece sets consisted solely of the statehood quarters in copper­-­nickel­ ­clad composition. The holder for this set was simply one of the two holders comprising the complete set described above. An eagle appears on the box cover in place of the Statue of Liberty.

Commentary: Sales of the regular ten­-­piece and five­-­piece Proof sets dropped off a bit in 2001. The popularity of the state quarters remained very high, but the added fuel of the Millennium was not present this year.

While the quality of Proof sets in recent decades has generally been of a consistently high level, some collectors observed that Proofs dated 2001 did not possess the depth of frosting seen in previous years. While deep cameo or ultra cameo Proofs certainly are not rare in an absolute sense, they do seem to be more elusive than usual.

A note of caution is in order regarding the net mintage figures of this and other Proof sets of recent vintage. Since the mid­-­1990s, the U.S. Mint has been slow in reporting sales, while its own annual reports may include incomplete or contradictory information.

While a discrepancy in the reporting of a few thousand Proof sets will have no impact on their rarity or value, an example of the challenges facing catalogers and researchers is illustrated by an announcement the Mint made in the spring of 2002. It seemingly found an unsold remainder of regular, nine­- ­and­ ­ten­-­piece Proof sets dated 1999, 2000, and 2001, numbering approximately 150,000 of each. These were briefly offered at a package price of $94.95 for one group of three sets or just $74.95 per group when 100 or more were ordered. When it was discovered that the sets had suffered some loss of quality while in storage (most likely the cents were changing color), the offer quickly had to be rescinded.

Source: Whitman