The United States Mint just released another product for young collectors, the 2019 Explore and Discover Coin Set™.
Featuring six coins, a blank, a magnifying glass, an activity book and a coin folder with teaching U.S. Mint Mighty Minters™ characters, the product presents a unique way of introducing young kids to coin collecting.
Included as part of the set are a planchet from which a coin is made, and coins ranging in denomination from the standard cent to a space-themed dollar. The six coins are in the two highest qualities struck for collectors with the three larger ones in proof finish from the San Francisco Mint (S) and the three smaller ones in uncirculated finish from the Denver Mint (D).
All seven items are held in an illustrated coin folder along with a magnifying glass. Adding to the set’s educational value, the uncirculated coins and planchet are removable and can be re-inserted multiple times so kids can closely view, examine, and handle them. The proof coins are encapsulated with both sides visible. By type, the coin folder holds:
- 2019-S Proof Native American $1 Coin (space-themed design)
- 2019-S Proof Kennedy half dollar
- 2019-S Proof Lowell National Historical Park (Massachusetts) quarter
- 2019-D Uncirculated Roosevelt dime
- 2019-D Uncirculated Jefferson nickel
- 2019-D Uncirculated Lincoln cent
- one-cent planchet (coin blank)
The included Lowell quarter bears the first of five unique quarter designs for 2019. The illustrated coin folder also has four quarter-sized openings for kids to collect and store the other four 2019-dated quarters depicting American Memorial Park of the Northern Mariana Islands, War in the Pacific National Historical Park of Guam, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas, and Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness of Idaho.
As an added bonus, an activity book accompanies each purchase. Games are included in the book along with fun facts, biographies of the Mighty Minters, and a step-by-step graphic of how coins are made.
The 2019 Explore and Discover Coin Set is the second of three youth-oriented products the U.S. Mint is offering this year featuring its Mighty Minters characters — Kendra, Timothy, Sophie, Lina, Alex, Eli, and Layla. The first in the series is the glow-in-the-dark Rocketship set with its uncirculated Kennedy half-dollar and space-themed proof Native American dollar. It launched on Feb. 28. The last youth-themed product for 2019 has a targeted release date of late October. Dubbed the Youth Coin and Currency Set™, it will contain each of the five 2019 quarters in proof finish and one uncirculated $2 bill.
Price and Ordering
Priced at $19.95, buy the 2019 Explore and Discover Coin Set directly from the U.S. Mint’s secure online catalog or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).
Product limit for the set is 50,000 with an initial household order limit of two.
I wouldn’t be suprised if the mint sticks a unique coin in this set like they did with the rocket ship set . It really starts the ball rolling .
I’ve already ordered my 2 but I just went back on line and they have stated been shipped but also not showing a limit on the amount that you can order. It’s similar to the last Time they dropped it after the first day.
They have. Compare the 2019 S proof Kennedy in the Explore and Discover set to the 2019 S proof Kennedy in the regular proof set. The Kennedy in the Explore and Discover set has a highly detailed (Enhanced) bust of Kennedy and the regular proof set has a dull frosty finish. Definitely a special strike Kennedy in the Explore and Discover set. I’ve reported this to Coin World and NGC.
I think this looks like a really cute set and kids would really like it!
I received notice that my second Apollo Engraved Print is processing. Interesting that it isn’t on the US Mint schedule.
It was removed. Item number B49297 is still on the website by searching. You can also see it says sold out by scrolling over “SHOP” ➡ “CURRENCY” ➡ click “ENGRAVINGS”. I believe they sold out via subscriptions.
As for this coin set, I think its a good novelty item, appealing towards the young coin enthusiast. Im curious as to who is writing biographies for fictional characters, instead of collaborating on new coins at the US Mint. I think it will be interesting to know the price of the coin and currency set with a $2 bill later this year. 5 proof clad ATB quarters are 15.95 as its own product.
I was just looking at the two “Explore and Discover Sets” that I purchased three years ago, and this is a really cool set. I will also admit I am a sucker for sets like this, the “2018 Stamp & Coin Set,” etc. I enjoy them.
any idea on the first day sales?
I really have no frame of reference, but I would guess abysmal. The rocket set had a much greater audience, especially for anyone that wanted a complete Apollo collection. I see this set being available for awhile, its similar to the 2014 coin discovery set, item# YC1, that is still available. That has a product limit of 45k, and only about 12k units have sold in the past 5 years.
wondering if there is any PL coins similar to the rocketship set?
The Rocketship set had a regular Uncirculated finish, Kennedy half dollar in it. The two coin Apollo set had an Enhanced Reverse Proof finish, Kennedy half dollar in it. I think Proof Like is a gimmick for US coins. I believe Proof Like is a Canadian nomenclature.
Proof-Like is also a term used in grading for the first few coins struck off a fresh pair of dies that exhibit exceptional surfaces – for example, you may see this on a slab label : 1881-S Morgan $1 PCGS MS-68 PL.
NumisdudeTX
Thanks Seth. I did see Proof Like used on older US coins. Isn’t that used only on coins that were made before we had polished dies? I’ve read Proof Like used in earlier articles from commenters on here and I just never saw the mint say they are striking “Proof Like” coins. For our modern coins if its a nice specimen, wouldn’t it simply grade higher, rather than be designated Proof Like?
Jake – The U.S. Mint doesn’t use the term Prooflike (or Proof-Like), but the grading services do (such as PL for standard Proof-Like coins & DMPL for Deep Mirror Proof-Like coins). The terms are used for circulation strike (business strike) coins with highly reflective backgrounds or fields. These terms are used mostly on older “classic” U.S. Mint coins, but have actually been used on “modern” circulation-quality coins that exhibit such qualities. I have seen Lincoln cents, Jefferson nickels & more denominations from the 1970s & 80s with the PL designation on the slab label. And these coins bring a large… Read more »
sales of explore and discover set thru mar 31 were 8468
Do you think they will designate and slab the penny blank
anacs did
Thanks for your reply and knowledge dude. I just saw an asinine price of $2000.00 for a PL Kennedy from the rocket set. That is quite the hefty premium for sure, I think thats pretty cool.
I just received email from the mint that there will be 3 w lincoln pennies this year. first one will be in the proof set already out,the second will be in the silver proof set with a reverse proof lincoln penny,and third will be the uncirculated set in may. Which means that 2019 D penny in the explore & discover set at 50,000 is the lowest mintage number of any lincoln penny. who knows what the mint has up its sleeve next,i think thats pretty exciting. For a coin collector of course.
sorry i read that wrong
I hope these coins are not the same coins as the other coins but in a different package and then sold on the second market as “rare” just because of the package. If they are really different from the regular issues coins then, yes, the label AND the coin should be worth more than the other coins IF THE MINTAGE IS LOWER. I collect coins and pay for the coin but I do not collect the labels and will not pay a premium just for the label. BUY THE COIN NOT THE SLAB! I see the slabs, labels, with the… Read more »
HSN sells their labels all the time at a premium and lead you to believe that they are the only ones who have this rare coin. It’s not rare as a coin, but only rare because of the limitation on the label. Another way to get your money and pay a premium. Like they say Buy the coin, not the label!
I completely agree with both of you. However maybe were missing something, there certainly seems to be a market for labels. $2000 for PL Kennedy from the Apollo set. I understand thats the price someone set, and doesn’t necessarily mean they are selling for that price. Yeah, I just don’t get it, and not a market I want to start getting involved in. I think buying the coin, and not the label is correct. ps. This set is very cool and nicely package.
Just got two 2019 Explore and Discover sets. I advise everyone to take a close look at the 2019 S proof Kennedy half. I compared it to the Kennedy half in the regular proof set and immediately noticed that the Explore and Discover set proof Kennedy has a highly detailed (Enhanced) bust of Kennedy. The one in the regular proof set has a dull frosty finish with little detail. Looks like the mint sneaked in another Kennedy mint type.
did you verify this with the mint?
No but I did notify Coin World and NGC but got no response. If you got one of the regular proof sets compare the Kennedy in it to the Kennedy in the Explore set
Just contacted the Mint and waiting for a response.
There is a little game book in the set. If you get that out you will see there is a challenge game near the back showing two views of the reverse of a Kennedy half dollar. They ask the kids to look at each image and find 8 different design change elements. I immediately went to the proof Kennedy in the set and took out the neat little magnifying glass thinking I would find a missing element or something on the reverse. There was absolutely nothing different about the reverse but I decided to look at the obverse anyway. Immediately… Read more »
Heard back from the Mint today and they say the Kennedy in both the regular proof set and the Explore Discover set are the same but I don’t accept that answer especially when I have both in front of me proving otherwise. Maybe it’s just a better strike than the one in the regular proof set. The Numismatic world is the hardest headed bunch to convince when you find an error or new coin. It’s like just because they didn’t discover it it doesn’t exist. I’ve been collecting coins for 55 years and I think that qualifies me as a… Read more »
just got the set of explore and discover,the unc roosevelt dime looks PL
Mine is definitely proof like also.
ngc will mention on label explore and discover set,as per my conversation with ngc,perhaps send in a set and see what comes back
looked at a few explore and discover sets, the 3 unc. coins certainly look proof like,much like the Kennedy half in the rocketship set
Be sure to compare the Discover Kennedy to the Kennedy in the regular proof set. I just had a friend of mine receive his Explore set and he just called and told me he definitely can see a difference between the two. The Kennedy bust is of much higher detail and not a dull finish.
coinvault is selling a expore and discover dime graded PL 67 by NGC.wondering how many people know about this.should sell out like rocketship set
October 31 release of kids currency & coin set 2009 fiscal year number of two dollar bills made what I found on the Internet N/A