I have complete dime, quarter and half collections going back to 1916. To maintain it I need the unc., clad prf, and silver prf. coins.

As long as the Mint includes these non-silver coins in the silver proof set I end up with duplicate proof cent, nickel, and dollar coins .

Yes, and 2012 is an especially perplexing anomaly to me. I could see 2019 and 2020 catching up to 2012 at some point (with the inclusion of the special W coins)

Tom, I recognize that we all have our own ways of evaluating and slicing and dicing. Myself, I wasn’t duplicating coins. In my case #1, you buy the AWQ silver proof set for $80 and the clad proof set for $35. In my case #2 you buy the silver proof set for $130 and the clad AWQ proof set for $23. The difference in price between the two cases is $38 which is the difference between having a silver proof half and silver proof dime vs. having a clad proof half and a clad proof dime. You get both the clad proof and the silver proof AWQ in both cases. A third case would be to go for the limited-edition proof set, but then that adds an ASE into the mix.

Kaiser, I’ve found there’s little difference with sets that are only a few years that come from reputable sellers.

well, for $80 you get 1.25 in silver (80/1.25 = 64)
the proof set contains 2.91 in coinage (5 at .25 + 1 +.50 +.10 +.05+.01)
35 / 2.91 = 12.02 per dollar for the unsilver set
so the silver proof set, less the $coin of $12 becomes 118/1.85 in silver = 63.78 (without reducing for the nickel and penny) so I think the price is close enough to being the same.
It boils down to …if you are going to order both proof sets then you are duplicating certain coins and at that point you might only want the silver quarters only. But then you give up the silver half and dime.

One element that comes into play with coin sets not bought first hand from the Mint, Tom, is that they’re not always in the best of shape. However, an empty box for a total of $4.93, what could possibly be the drawback on a deal like that? 😉

Okay now, that is some very interesting and especially eye-opening information, Major D. It hearkens back to all the stories about how the Mint’s coin sets – with the glaring exception of the 2012 issues – don’t hold up well value-wise over time. Something to ponder for future reference.

I was wondering about that myself, Major D and Tom, as to whether the silver dime and half dollar were important enough to justify my spending an extra $50 above the price of the Silver AWQ Set just to get the two aforementioned coins. Otherwise, a Silver AWQ Set and Clad Proof Set combo would seem to be the better deal.

Congrats, Tom, and enjoy!

You got my curiosity up – on recent ebay, some have sold for less than $70.
or I see you can buy an empty box for $1.43 plus 3.50 for shipping.
Now how can you pass up such a deal like that!