Uncirculated Sets, or Mint Sets, contain specimens of coins that are typically minted for general circulation.
The first such sets were sold in 1947 in cardboard panels with two coins for each issue, thus showing the obverse and reverse of each one. Such sets were, with the exception of 1950, annually produced through 1958. In 1959 a plastic soft pack of single coins was sold and these were annually offered through 1964. In 1965-7 "special mint sets", a higher level of uncirculated coins, replaced both mint and proof sets. With the exception of 1982-1983, mint sets have been issued every year since 1968. (For 1982 and 1983 collectors sometimes buy the annual "souvenir sets" struck by the Philadelphia and Denver mints, which are very similar to the official Treasury-issued mint sets.
Notable are the 1970, 1973, and 1996 mint sets. These contained the 1970-D Kennedy half dollar, the 1973-P and 1973-D Eisenhower dollars, and the 1996-W Roosevelt dime, none of which were minted for general circulation and could be obtained only from the U.S. mint sets. More recent sets contain non-circulating half-dollar and dollar denominations. From the 2005 mint set coins through the 2010 mint set coins were prepared using special dies that produce a "satin finish" distinct from business strike coins. The US Mint reverted to coins that are typically minted for general circulation in 2011. Mint sets currently are sealed in a plastic blister-pack, unlike the flexible plastic packs of earlier sets.They are usually sold in sets of two - one for each branch of production.