Original Government Packaging - Is there any demand?
BryceM
Posts: 11,787 ✭✭✭✭✭
Is there a market for the OGP that comes with modern mint releases. They actually do put some effort into the packaging of the coins. I would normally think to sell it on eBay, but I'm not about to try and navigate that again anytime soon.
I have a couple of coins that will be soon wearing plastic - items like the gold Walker, SLQ, and Merc releases, the baseball commem, and the Apollo coins. I also have some OGP for the 2009 UHR.
All of this stuff hitting the landfill a few days after people receive the coins seems wasteful. It would perhaps be something the mint should look at. I'd happily pay a few bucks less to only receive the coin, not that I'm likely to buy much from the mint anytime soon.
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I would say yes.
One if my 2011 Silver Eagle sets arrived with a smashed case. I'll either have try to buy an empty one or sell them off singly.
Sometimes the capsules arrive broken as well.
I've bought a box on ebay.
As #jbk said, I had damaged packaging.
People will also sometimes crack 69s and put them back in OGP.
One of the posters here claims one is committing fraud if one sells COAs and boxes.
Just sayin'.
Tons of it on eBay. I would say little to no demand.
FWIW - APMEX also carries it ...
I'm assuming the poster is not a lawyer. LOL.
You could be enabling a fraud. I fail to see how selling a COA is in itself a fraud. What if I'm a COA collector?
Some people seem to believe that the COA that comes with a coin belongs to that specific coin and that you're committing fraud if you put it with another coin of the same type.
I understand what they are thinking. But selling a COA/box might not be for that purpose. I used the box and threw away the COA.
Now, to be fair, if I had a coin straight from the MInt that was missing a COA, I would have used the COA and thrown away the box. But I fail to see how that would be fraudulent.
I think they mean well but are just not thinking. The mint strikes a bunch of coins, prints a bunch of COAs and sticks one of each in the box. Any COA can go with any coin, the coin and COA don't have anything that ties specific ones together.
There is a market for it as people look for replacements for damaged packaging or want the packaging after buying the coins slabbed (without any COA/box). The biggest market for it is eBay. You can try on the BST here but I'm not sure how much demand there would be (unless someone is looking for that particular item). Another thing to consider is shipping costs (some of the bulky packaging will be more expensive to mail out than it's worth).
The OGP for the UHR might be your biggest "money maker" as those tend to sell for $20-$30 on eBay.
Another idea I have seen is repurposing the packaging. Some of the nicer boxes work well as displays for just about any coin that will fit (for example, I have seen bullion eagles stored and sold with the nicer boxes).
I remember when the old carboard mint/proof coin holders with envelopes sold for a premium. I'm sure that was with intent of inserting mint/proof coins and selling as real, but that is just my opinion. They sold for several years when ebay first started. Whether illegal or not, I cannot say.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
FWIW - many of the empty OGP boxes that APMEX sells come with a COA.
Note - PCGS requires submissions for their 'COA Encapsulation' to be in a sealed Mint box if they are serialized or signed.
Even in that case, the COA was packaged with the coin randomly.
Agreed.
Just pointing out that PCGS treats 'serialized/signed' COA differently than 'non-serialized/unsigned' ones. This, in effect, links a specific coin to a specific 'serialized/signed' COA.
As of several years ago, it was against eBay policy to sell OGP without the associated coin. Maybe that has changed at this juncture. (?)
EDIT: I have a medium size box full of OGP left over after slabbing the coins. I've offered some of those slabs for sale over the years and invariably include the OGP in the lot. The capsules may be the most in-demand item out of the various components of the OGP, just based on what I've seen people asking for on CU and elsewhere. FWIW.
US Mint website:
https://catalog.usmint.gov/faqs-faqcategory-products-programs/products-programs-coa.html
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I replace a Certificate of Authenticity?
If you have lost your COA, Contact Customer Service to see if a replacement is still available.
If Customer Service can provide them if available, it's hard to see how selling one is a problem.
The COA thing is overblown. The COA is pretty meaningless as proof of anything. It doesn't serve the same purpose as a slab, for example.
Agreed. Although that's also how it can be used fraudulently.
agreed, I have a lot of OGP, and in one instance went thru a lot of trouble to find it.
Not for fraud, but for my collection.
Stupid to say that it is fraud.
Did I defraud myself?
BHNC #203
I don't know about modern stuff but people do collect OGP from the classic period.
Not sure about the modern era, but you definitely see it with the GSA CC Morgans. Sad to think how many of those have been cracked out. I have bought the GSA boxes and matching cards for my NGC graded GSA CC Morgans so they could have a true 'home'.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
I consider most COA's to be 'window dressing' since there is no direct link to the coin(s). An 'official' addition to the product to enhance how the product is perceived. They can be added where missing, or swapped between owners. I do like to have the original packaging though. Cheers, RickO
I have a friend who, for some strange reason, collects modern stuff from the mint.
He'll buy on the outside, but never without the OGP
BHNC #203
I don’t know what to do with the stuff.
I usually end up keeping the coins in the OGP, but does this damage the coins over time?
Is it recommended to throw away OGP because of damage to coins?
I have never bought only OGP on the internet, but see a lot out there.
I dont think its illegal to sell it or buy it with as much as I see on the internet.
OGP should be safe (hopefully) for storing the coins, but you can also store the capsuled coins apart from the rest of the packaging.
Unless the coins are slabbed, I assume raw coins are worth less without OGP.
Thats what I like to think; that coins are safe in OGP, but you never know.
You have to end up trusting the OGP makers.
Is there a way to test OGP for acidity or acid free state?
I have seen a lot of bad toning on foam.
Why do they use that?
That stuff seems to be very bad for coins looking good.
Personally, I'd be less concerned about acidity than fumes (might be the same thing). Glues, synthetic fibers, etc. ....
Some collectors like the packaging, especially the custom designed packaging that adds special facts and pictures. My grandson got interested in the Reverse Proof American Innovation Dollars in the folders with pictures and facts about the design of the coin. He is very disappointed that they have been discontinued by the Mint after only two years.
P.S. there seems to be little demand for them so that is why the Mint discontinued them.