Click here to open MS Excel 21st Century coin list - dated Dec. 2008
Total Coins to Complete: 111 coins to year 2011
Difficulty: Low
Cost to Assemble: Very Low (less than $200)
For specific coin information and mintages be sure to check out our U.S. Coin Library.
Of all the U.S. type sets the 21st century set is the most affordable and fun. For all but two coins, one can simply search their pocket change or visit their local bank and easily find an AU coin with lots of eye appeal.
The two coins that will require a little more searching are the Kennedy Half Dollar and Sacagawea Dollar. Due to lack of demand, the U.S. mint has drastically reduced production and circulation of these coins over the last several years. Obtaining these coins may require a visit to a coin shop, mail order, internet, or the U.S. Mint.
If you become impatient and want a specific coin now then visit your neighborhood coin shop. You'll probably pay a small premium but the coin shop owner is probably not making a profit. These shop owners only charge a small premium to cover their costs of keeping the coin in inventory. Additionally, even if you don't need a coin, I highly recommend you visit a coin shop as they are a fantastic source of coin collecting information and insight.
Warning! Stay away from TV sellers of modern coins!. These folks are out for your money and nothing more. They do not care about collectors and charge huge premiums for common coins. Sometimes they even try to entice buyers via gold, silver, or platinum plating of coins. Again, do not let these selling gimmicks fool you. The plating is completely worthless and detracts from the numismatic value of the coin. Remember, these are common coins so there is no need for one to obtain pristine uncirculated coins when assembling a set. 21st Century coins of all types were produced in plentiful amounts. If any scarcity is present, it falls into the realm of specialty collecting such as error coins, proof coins, or high grade MS70 coins.
To understand this better look at the mintage figures for the Maine statehood quarter (one of the lowest mintages in the statehood series) in comparison to to the entire Standing Liberty (S.L.) Quarter series from 1916 to 1930:
2003 Maine Quarter Mintage: 448.8 million coins
1916-1930 S.L. Quarter Mintage: 226.7 million coins
What can be seen is that just one coin from the statehood quarter programs is almost double the mintage for an entire coin series!