Received: envelope of 5 unopened 1973 mint sets: Action decided

Bochiman

Now,

Do I play little kid on an early Xmas morning and just RIP into them?
What is it that makes 1973 so much more expensive (greysheet) than the years around it?

Hmmmm...to rip or not to rip (we already know Russ' answer "RIP")?

ER

Just rip it, Ron.

mnmcoin

Nothing really special about them except maybe a cherry Lincoln.

Not as many of them were ordered so the mintage stayed low and makes them less available and it drives the price up.

morris <><

ps, I do think in the long term proof sets are a great buy, specially the mid range and expensive ones, thousands of people are pouring through them and tens upon hundreds of thousands of these sets are broken out as they get sent in to be slabbed...long term sets become more scarce and if demand continues to increase, not enough sets will be available...just look at what the 1950 and 1952 proof sets have done over the last 4 or 5 years!!!

itsnotjustme

The Ikes make them expensive. It was not issued for circulation that year, so the mint set is the only place to get one.

Myqqy

Do I play little kid on an early Xmas morning and just RIP into them?

Hell yes, get busy!!

Bochiman

It is hard.....lots of willpower needed....I WANT TO RIP it open.
I already ripped open 5 unopened (1 box) 1973 Brown Box Ikes a few months back.

This pack hasn't seen the light of day since June 15th, 1973 according to the stamp on the outside of the original wrap.

I don't even know how they were stored (or how many owners...I am guessing at least 2) since they were originally bought......wonder on the toning possibilities too.

Hmmmmmmmm.

If I were an "investor", I would probably keep them intact. If I were a "businessman" in the coin world, I would probably keep them intact (unless I were named Russ or MadMarty).
But, I am a simple collector or wastes his money on unopened items.

I think I will likely open it in the next few days to a week.
I know that my willpower, while strong, has limited duration

MadMarty

Stop Monkeying around and open the suckers will you!!!

ksteelheader

<< <i>Monkeying around >>

magikbilly

Hi,

dare I say it - I'd keep them closed. They have come this far unopened...


Best,
Billy

LeeG

Just "Rip Em"!!!!!!! Lee

zzzz

Open 1 this year
Open 1 in 5 years
Open 1 in 10years
Open 1 in 15 years

Keep one unopened ...

DHeath

You'll be amazed at the luster of the Ikes. For some reason, 73,74 and 78 mint set Ikes blaze. Don't forget to look for DDO halves and full step Jeffs.

haletj

Look for a nice S penny. If you find one... Please sell it to me!

techeff

Let 'er RIP!!!

cladking

Sets of the '73's come in heavy yellow "envelope". Almost invariably these
will contain 5 sets. Typically each coin of each mint/ denomination will come
from the same die pair struck a few dozen coins apart. If one is a gem there
is a good chance they'll all be gems.

Don't get you hopes too high since only the cents, and Denver dimes and quarters
are very often seen as gems in these sets. On the plus side this date is virtually
sole source of several of these coins as gems.

Bochiman

Ok,

After reading the comments, the following people's advice have made me make my decision:

ER: Clean and simple instructions!
MnmCoin: Nothing special, JUST a lincoln....so, worth about the same opened/unopened
Madmarty: His guide for patience
Magicbilly:
Dheath: Mentioned a few things to look for (but, is it worth it? low odds)
Haletj: Tosses out chance at monetary gain
Cladking: Find one gem, find more....or, get nothing at all and "thanks for playing, sucka!"

So, *drumroll please*....I have opened the outer envelope...exactly as Cladking described it.
The inner envelopes were, of course, not even sealed (so, I couldn't open 1 this year, 1 next, etc).
Rather, I looked at all 5
Only 1 cent had spots on it...and quite a few of them it did near lincoln's head.

I haven't looked at them in depth yet, not with a loupe and only for a moment as I was called to dinner
right when I opened them. Looks like only 1 set has even tried to start toning.
They are all clean otherwise. VERY nice looking coins. No major dings (well, 1 mark on 1 Ike I saw
and 1 kennedy (same envelope but P rather than D) looks kinda crappy.
Other than that...some very nice looking lincolns, to the naked eye...will check later.
I can't tell a MS66 from a MS67 from a MS68 for the lincolns, so I don't know yet.

Haven't looked for FB roosies yet nor FS Jeffies.....are they few or many for this year?

Thanks for all the advice...I will be looking at them much more closely (the set I bought at auction earlier in the year
were toned so seeing them completely unmolest and white/clean is quite nice).

Ron

magikbilly

I was clearly misquoted.

Magikbilly

cladking

<< <i>

Haven't looked for FB roosies yet nor FS Jeffies.....are they few or many for this year?

Ron >>



Uncharacteristically there are a lot of nice gem, well struck nickels for this year. There
is a tendency for the nice strikes to be marked up and the clean coins to not have full
steps though. Check the pops but it should be a moderately good year for top grade
coins anyway. There are huge numbers of inferior coins though especially for the Philly
mint. '73 dimes are tough but do sometimes appear as very nice coins with the Philly
PL in a few cases.

It sounds like you might have some good ones from your description, but don't get your
hopes too high since the "money" coins have to be very nice. The Philly Ike is especially
tough.

Bochiman

Thanks Cladking,

Trust me, I am not getting my hopes up. I am trying to get a variety of slabbed moderns of the different "species"/denoms so that I can learn.
Right now, I am smart enough to know that I am not smart enough to grade these puppies (other than...NOT MS69/70 and NOT MS60/61/62 ).

I know it is only 31 years ago but I can't get over how nice/red/lustrey (is that a word? ) the lincolns look. I am thinking the sets must have been stored cooly and correctly.

Bowtiecoins (Katrina/Chris) if you read this....most of the lincolns look like the top 2 1968-S coins I bought from you (of the 3) in the way their luster is.
Quick look and the quarters also look pretty clean.

Question....are any of the denoms' strikes atypical? Such as, quarters are all sucky strikes or all great strikes?

haletj

It sounds like you have some great coins. For some reason, the 1973 cents seem so hard (all three pds are about the worst of my Memorial Set) and 73 nickels are so easy (or at least I had no trouble finding gems, from rolls though, my 73-d is even full steps). Dimes are easy even in FB. 73-p quarters are tough (I got mine from a mint set) and I still have yet to find nice 73 p or d halves anywhere. I got a gem 73-d Ike from a mint set, but 73-p I still can't find. If any of your pennies are ms66, they're worth slabbing, even an ms65 73-s sells for $35-$45.

Bochiman

Thanks HaletJ,

Now, I need to figure out how to grade the moderns well
I *think* I may have some that are worth slabbing then (quick look at quarters and cents...not sure of others yet...only looked for DDO (none ))

Hmmmmmmmmmm

wam98

There should be some demand for the Ike dollars.

Gandyjai

A 73-P Ike in PCGS MS66 can bring close to $1,500!!
Even a 65 will bring in good money.

Brian

Bochiman

With my luck, I doubt I would have one that high......I ordered a PCGS64 so I will have an idea.
Now, I just need to see if these are nicer when I get the MS64 from Mitch.
The Denvers look quite a bit "smoother" than the Phillies....so, like I said...I am on the "wait and see".