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Collecting each of the coins from 2011 is made easier by purchasing a 2011 mint set.
The 2011 mint set contains uncirculated coins representing each of the designs and denominations the United States Mint made for that year.
Here’s a look at the coins expected for inclusion in the 2011 uncirculated coin set:
- Lincoln cent
- Jefferson nickel
- Roosevelt dime
- America the Beautiful quarters
- Kennedy half dollar
- Presidential dollar coins
- Native American dollar coin
Both the Philadelphia and Denver mints struck coins (as usual), so the 2011 uncirculated coin set includes 28 coins.
That’s a lot of coins!
Why Buying A Mint Set Is So Important
It’s normally fairly difficult to obtain brand new coins from pocket change during their first several months of circulation — because everybody else is searching for them, too (and they’re removing those coins before you can get to them).
Also, some coins are hard to find because every now and then certain designs are released slowly to certain areas of the country.
So, when it comes time to add new coins to your coin collection, usually the best route to go is to purchase uncirculated coin sets.
US Mint Uncirculated Coins
The U.S. Mint has been releasing uncirculated coin sets ever since 1947.
Mint sets contain a complete range of examples of each year’s circulating coins, with a few exceptions:
- The 1971 and 1972 mint sets don’t contain Eisenhower dollars
- The 1979 mint set doesn’t have an S-mint Susan B. Anthony dollar
- There are no Susan B. Anthony dollar coins in the 1999 mint set
However, mint sets sometime contain coins that you can’t find in circulation, such as:
- The 1987 mint set, which has Kennedy half dollars (none were minted for circulation that year).
- Recent mint sets still contain Kennedy half dollars, even though half dollars are no longer regularly released into circulation.
For similar reasons, buying a mint set every year is important if you’re trying to get examples of Presidential dollar coins and Native American dollar coins. Both types of dollar coins are very hard to find through circulation channels and not every bank stocks rolls of dollar coins.
My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I'm a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I'm also the editor at CDN Publishing (a trusted source for the price of U.S. rare coins), editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I've contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek. I've also authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins — and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
