The Uncirculated Coin Sets or Mint Sets issued from 2000 to 2009 saw their size expanded with the launch of new coin series and the repeated appearance of rotating coin designs. Also during this period, the United States Mint introduced a special stain finish for coins included in the annual set.
With the issuance of the 2000 set, the State Quarters Program had entered its second year and the Sacagawea Dollar was launched. These two factors combined to drive sales higher with more than 1.2 million sets sold. As the new designs continued their popularity, set sales would run even higher in the following year, which would ultimately prove to serve as a temporary peak.
In 2004, a series of rotating designs were released for the Jefferson Nickel. This would entail an expansion in the number of coins included in the set since there were two different designs issued per year. The next expansion of the set would occur in 2007 when the Presidential Dollars Program was launched, featuring four different designs per year.
The largest number of coins included in the standard set would occur in 2009, when the DC & US Territories Quarters released six different designs and the Lincoln Cent released four different designs. These added to the already abundant number of coins issued through the other series.
From 2005, the US Mint utilized a satin finish which featured more well produced coins with a frosted appearance. These coins are considered by the major grading services and most collectors to be separate issues from the standard circulation strikes.
