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Modern Coin Question - Presidential Dollars

Let me start by saying I know nothing about the Presidential Dollars.

My oldest son is going to start collecting them. My questions:


What is Position A & B?

What is Satin Finish vs No Satin Finish?

Coins in a roll from the Bank, are those Satin Finish?



I have looked at Sonoran Monsoon's sets and like the set. Hopefully my son will like it too.
Morgan Everyman Set
Member, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors.
Looking for PCGS AU58+ 1901-P, 1896-O, & 1894-O

Comments

  • 19Lyds19Lyds Posts: 26,470 ✭✭✭✭
    Position A and Position B refers to the orientation of the Lettering on the edge of the coin with Position A being Statue of Liberty Face Up and Position B being the President Face Up. Face Up meaning, the lettering is reading normally. PCGS came up with this after the Washington and Adams Dollars were released and the country was being scammed with "Upside Down" edge lettering error listings.



    Satin Finish simply indicates a "special" finish that the US Mint used for their Mint Set Coins from 2005 through 2010. The program ended in 2010. A satin finish coin typically has a high grade appearance since the dies were specially prepared. As such, many grading services attributed ANY high grade Presidential Dollar as a less expensive Satin Finish coin.
    Since the Mint Set coins received special handling, high grades were quite common with MS69 and MS70 being attainable. Regular Business Strikes, on the other hand usually topped out at MS67 with a few in 2008 hitting MS68.

    Satin Finish Announcement Satin Finish Discontinuation

    Coins in US Mint or Bank Rolls are NOT Satin Finish but normal circulation quality. However, as mentioned earlier, if you find a high grade bank roll coin it'll be tough getting it graded as anything other than Satin Finish since the two finishes look very similar on the gold colored alloy. It should be noted that many collectors and dealers purchased Mint Set looking for high grade coins. The lessor grade coins (satin finish) could very well have been released into the wild (I know I did) and as such, could turn up in rolls.

    Personally, I'm glad the Mint dropped Satin Finish as it caused more headaches than it was worth.
    I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.



    The name is LEE!
  • AUandAGAUandAG Posts: 24,515 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Although it is a fun set, they are extremely difficult to find in the wild. You end up buying the coins
    that you need for your set. Makes it pretty expensive for kids unless Dad kicks in the bucks.

    I had the number 11 set in the PCGS registry up through Lincoln when I stopped. My banks just
    didn't want to order the rolls for me to search. Then I ended up buying the rolls from the Mint and
    that just upped my cost. Then, when that was not successful in finding quality coins, I ended up
    buying them already graded off Ebay and from known modern sellers (some on this board). With
    the positions and varieties it became quite an endevour and very expensive. I sold them at a
    loss after losing interest. No regrets either.

    bob
    Registry: CC lowballs (boblindstrom), bobinvegas1989@yahoo.com
  • I don't know what age your oldest son is, but there is one major dissadvantage to collecting the Presidential dollars for young collectors. They simply are not found much in circulation, and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to get them in rolls from the bank. One of the favorite things about collecting coins I remember as a kid was being able to search my pocket change and look through rolls. It was a very affordable way to collect, not to mention a good way to get a basic knowledge of grading. This is a very difficult task to accomplish with dollars, and the few you can get in circulation are pretty ugly. I hate to admit it, but the Presidential dollars do not age well in circulation. They turn down right ugly, when the luster disappears.
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    For YN's, collecting a modern series is a good way to begin. The Presidential series can pose problems, so it could be a turn off if 'action' were not frequent enough. SHQ's brought many young collectors into the hobby. Cheers, RickO
  • jmski52jmski52 Posts: 22,298 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If I were just starting out, and in fact if I were going to assemble a set of Presidential Dollars, I wouldn't pay any attention to positions A & B. Nor would I care too much about making a set of high grade coins for the Registry. You can ALWAYS upgrade later and fill in the gaps later if you really get serious about the collection.

    The satin finish coins found in the Uncirculated Sets from 2005 through 2010 would be somewhat optional for me, especially as a beginner - but if I stuck it out as a collector, I'd probably end up adding them down the road.

    The only drawback I can see is that they did discontinue the Presidential Dollars for circulation, which means that no matter what - you will be buying all of the remaining issues either directly from the Mint for a premium, or from a dealer at a premium - no matter what.

    If I liked the idea of assembling a collection of the Presidents, I'd do it anyway.

    In fact, I've been thinking about ripping all of my Uncirculated Sets & Proof Sets apart, buying some Danscos and just start plugging holes to see how such a set would look.image
    Q: Are You Printing Money? Bernanke: Not Literally

    I knew it would happen.

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