1989-S 1c-50c Proof Set, 5 Coins PR

Original Packaging: A two­-­piece, transparent plastic casing with frosted borders held a purple fiberboard insert containing holes for the coins. This was slipped into a purple cardboard box upon which the words “United States Mint Proof Set • 1989” were printed in silver script.

Commentary: The 1989­-­S Proof set was a near twin of its immediate predecessor, priced the same at issue and with a very similar mintage. Why one set is valued more than the other is one of the puzzles that make collecting Proof sets so interesting.

1989 was the last year in which our Proof coins bore mintmarks that were actually hand punched into a die. Though this punching had been performed solely on the master die since 1985, resulting in no varieties or positional changes of any kind, it did lend a certain human element to the coins that has been lacking ever since.

Source: Whitman