Unopened 1946 "Mint Set."，One of the most intriguing items that we have offered in recent memory, this lot features an unopened 1946 "Mint Set." We have placed the term "Mint Set" in quotation marks since the first true Mint Sets were not assembled and distributed by the Mint until 1947. Collectors used to be able to obtain coins for their collections directly from the Treasury Department up through the late 1930s. As late as 1935, for example, the Treasury still had rolls of Mint State 1921 Peace dollars available for face value, plus the cost of shipping. By the late 1930s, however, dealers were ordering coins for their inventory in roll quantities. As a result, late in 1939, the Treasury Department issued a policy change that would allow dealers and collectors alike to order no more then "two coins of each denomination from each mint." Thus the Double Mint set was born.<p>In the early years only a few hundred sets were ordered. Like the set being offered here, the coins were placed in paper bank tubes which were stapled shut. An invoice from the Treasury Department was typed up and placed into a canvas bag with the coins. The bags were than sealed with heavy string and a lead seal and sent Registered Mail to the collector.<p>In 1946, <em>The Numismatist</em> printed a notice from the Treasury that sets could be ordered. As a result, orders jumped from a few hundred sets to several thousand and the old "one man assembly process" became antiquated overnight. The following year, 1947, saw the introduction of new packaging in cardboard and envelopes. The new packaging lasted through 1958.<p>As of November 2017 only five original canvas bag sets have surfaced, one from each year 1942 to 1946. The present lot offers the unique 1946 set, the coins still sealed in the virtually pristine cloth bag. The registered mailing tag from the Treasury Department is still affixed with two stamps on the front and two postmarks on the reverse, dated November 27 and November 30, 1946. The original recipient of this set is one Mr. John Paul Ray, 706 Prospect Blvd., Waterloo, Iowa. Since the bag is still sealed, we have no way of ascertaining its exact contents, although it fits the description given above for a 1946 "Mint Set" mailing. Personal inspection is highly recommended for this impressive and rare offering. <strong><em>This is a must see, sold as is, no return lot</em></strong>.
