Enthusiasm for the 1961 Proof Sets was incredible. Beginning on November 1, 1960, the Mint received an average of 20,000 orders a day, and by December 9, over 2,200,000 sets had been sold. By February 1961, the Mint had received orders for 3,000,000 sets! To handle the increased demand, the Mint installed new-fangled IBM machines to process order, new presses to strike coins, and switched to a 24-hour a day production schedule.

Each set contained five coins: One example each of the Lincoln Cent, Jefferson Nickel, Roosevelt Dime, Washington Quarter, and Benjamin Franklin Half Dollar--each made of 90% Silver!

About the sets: 1961 Proof Coins are found with Brilliant, Cameo and Deep Cameo surfaces. Brilliant Proofs are the most common, Cameo Proofs of any denomination are fairly common, and Deep Cameo Proofs are very scarce.