Open mint products or keep them in the shipping box?

basestealer

Which do you prefer and why?

I don't intend to send any to get them slabbed so cherrypicking isn't an issue. I would like to inspect the product to make sure it meets the mint's usually lackluster quality standards. But, down the road, maybe they will command a premium in the original unopened shipping box. I can't help but think that most of the original packaging products that have been opened are coins that didn't make the 69/70 cut.

GritsMan

I STRONGLY prefer to leave them in original mint packaging. Some of these issues you can hardly find anymore that haven't been slabbed. I find the slabbing just robs the coins of a great deal of their aesthetic and historic value. I also think that once people wake up to this, the value of coins in original packaging is going to go up, just as it has done for the GSA dollars. And with so many of these coins being graded 69 or 70 anyway, who cares what the grade is as long as you think it's a beautiful coin?

My humble opinion.

--Sneed

Cladiator

If you're a speculator then keep them unopened in the box. If you're a collector then open them and enjoy them.

ttown

I open mine if I didn't want the coins in the first place I wouldn't have ordered them. Now if it's a special issue that big $$$$ could be made like the 2006 W plats that's one thing but a common proof set not going to buy you anything IMO. What if the mint forgot to put the coin in the box or put in the wrong product? It's happened before.

basestealer

Hi,
I think I miscommunicated. I didn't mean leave them in the original mint packaging--that is a given. I meant, should I leave them in the original mailing box, unopened. The brown box the mint ships them in.

As an example, with the controversy surrounding phoney '64 mint set "sealed envelopes", I noticed an unopened US mint mailing box with 5 of those sets sealed inside sell for double the money recently, because the buyers were assured the sets weren't picked over.

ziggy29

<< <i>If you're a speculator then keep them unopened in the box. If you're a collector then open them and enjoy them. >>

Agreed. The only reason to keep them in the box is if you hope a cherrypicker will pay moon money for it some year down the road.

If you bought the coins in the hope of financial gain, leave 'em sealed. If you bought the coins to enjoy the coins, open the box.

ricko

I like to look at my coins.... since I am not a flipper, speculator or dealer, I open them and enjoy them. Otherwise, I would not buy them. Cheers, RickO

PRTCOINS

I like to open the mint boxes just to make sure i get what i ordered and to see how the coin looks and then i keep it in the original box that i opened up.

Enjoymint

I have been buying the Proof State Quarter sets for my neices, nephews, etc. for the past 9 years. I am so glad that I opened each set to look at them because in 2001 (or was it '02?) 4 out of the 15 sets had no coins. The boxes looked untampered and the plastic cases were still sealed, just no coins.

Imagine my embarrassment had I sent these boxes out (for Birthday Presents) and they were opened without the coins.

PRTCOINS

<< <i>I have been buying the Proof State Quarter sets for my neices, nephews, etc. for the past 9 years. I am so glad that I opened each set to look at them because in 2001 (or was it '02?) 4 out of the 15 sets had no coins. The boxes looked untampered and the plastic cases were still sealed, just no coins.

Imagine my embarrassment had I sent these boxes out (for Birthday Presents) and they were opened without the coins. >>



Did the mint reimburse you for them?

GritsMan

Oh yeah, I misread the original message. While I occasionally buy new products with an eye toward investment, I'm not so serious about it as to leave them totally unopened.

garsmith

I keep them in the original mint packaging, some sets I still have in the mailing box/sleeve but the box has been opend so I can see what I got.

The mint shipping box is big enogh to hold two sets, so I put the proof set and silver proof set boxes together in one shipping box to save storage space!

Enjoymint

<< <i>

<< <i>I have been buying the Proof State Quarter sets for my neices, nephews, etc. for the past 9 years. I am so glad that I opened each set to look at them because in 2001 (or was it '02?) 4 out of the 15 sets had no coins. The boxes looked untampered and the plastic cases were still sealed, just no coins.

Imagine my embarrassment had I sent these boxes out (for Birthday Presents) and they were opened without the coins. >>



Did the mint reimburse you for them? >>



Actually they did. I didn't even have to return anything, they just sent me 4 new sets with a letter of appology. I was quite impressed.

MadMonk

I only keep them sealed if I buy multiple. Open one and keep the others sealed.

planetsteve

On experience with the plats, I prefer to open all of them. For one thing, if the Mint shorted you a coin inside the packaging -- and I've read about it here with other issues -- you're in some trouble with your buyer. (The "no returns" policy usually seen on these types of sales does not help matters.)

For another, I'll do my cherrypicking myself, thank you. To me that means sending in the best for 70s; and that doesn't mean the rest aren't solid coins. I've had no complaints after selling ten sets.

Finally, I found that I was indeed losing about $100 on opened plat sets versus those that were sold sealed. It was a big surprise to me that people didn't seem to really care what the coins looked like. Later, as selling tapered off, a board member sold his with similar large close-up photos of each coin. He got great prices.

So it sounds like sealed sets will do slightly better during the initial speculation craze (when buyers may well be intending to pass off their sealed box to someone else!)

However, I still find the sealed-set transaction to be irrational and risky, and I will avoid it as either buyer or seller. As a seller you run the risks of packaging and QC problems, as well as the obvious risk that you are selling a real "cherry" and losing big money. Of course you may sell these sets knowing it is likely that the coins within suck (40-year-old sets, lets say), and an ignorant buyer who has higher hopes may well be taken advantage of. Conversely, buyers are of course ALWAYS looking to take advantage of the seller in these situations. It's all a bit sleazy, with a bit of mutual contempt on each side; so no thanks.



edit: typo