Just submitted mine, we'll see what I get in about a month hopefully. I'm not hopeful about the silver dollar proofs coming back PR70DC, but maybe I'll get lucky.
I sent in 100 of the proof and 100 of the unc. The order came back with 32 MS70 and 5 PR70. I submitted 100 unc and 100 proof for a friend, his came back with 11 MS70 and 4 PR70.
We both got our coins about the same time, within 1 day. And they were accepted by PCGS bulk on the same day, and they were graded on the same day. The only difference was that I wrapped my 200 coins in 5/16th inch bubble wrap and then vacuume sealed the bags. I just put his in ziplock bags. Both were shipped via USPS Express mail. I wonder if the method of travel actually had something to do with the difference in grades.....
<< <i>I'm sending in One Gold Proof from the 3 coiner, and also one Gold Unc....I get to use the CC special on one of them.
I wonder what would be better to send on the quarterly special, the Unc of the Proof???
Not sure if it's worth sending in the silver dollars....Ill look them over real close just in case I think I can get a 70.
GB >>
you're breaking up the three-coin set?.. you beast!..
i used the quarterly special at the Long Beach show to submit my 2007-W Jamestown Gold Unc., bought directly from the Mint late last year.. got the grade on Friday.. PCGS MS70 ..
also submitted my two-coin 10nd Anniversary Platinum set.. got PCGS PR69DCAM on the Proof and PCGS PR70 on the Reverse Proof.. i got those back since i paid extra for five-day service.. this is the FIRST time i've ever submitted anything to PCGS and gotten a 70, much less two 70s in one sit-down submission..
i also submitted four crossover slabs.. i didn't crack them out, and i also specified (on the advice of a friend).. to submit them to cross at existing grades or better.. no down-grading.. i have NO idea what PCGS will give them.. but ONE of the coins currently has a population of 2 in MS68 and mine's in an NGC MS67 slab.. i suppose the chances are near zero that PCGS will upgrade it one point, but i had to try, because the difference in value is close to $5000.00 for that one point jump.. will reveal what i submitted and what the results were when i get the grades.. they haven't been posted yet.. {{squirm squirm}}..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
Here are the two I am sending in, just re-imaged them today. They should ship out by Tuesday or Wednesday, working on what to send with them and just about have it narrowed down. Congrats on your thread busting 1000 Goldbully!
<< <i>I sent in 100 of the proof and 100 of the unc. The order came back with 32 MS70 and 5 PR70. I submitted 100 unc and 100 proof for a friend, his came back with 11 MS70 and 4 PR70.
We both got our coins about the same time, within 1 day. And they were accepted by PCGS bulk on the same day, and they were graded on the same day. The only difference was that I wrapped my 200 coins in 5/16th inch bubble wrap and then vacuume sealed the bags. I just put his in ziplock bags. Both were shipped via USPS Express mail. I wonder if the method of travel actually had something to do with the difference in grades..... >>
<< <i>I'm sending in One Gold Proof from the 3 coiner, and also one Gold Unc....I get to use the CC special on one of them.
I wonder what would be better to send on the quarterly special, the Unc of the Proof???
Not sure if it's worth sending in the silver dollars....Ill look them over real close just in case I think I can get a 70.
GB >>
you're breaking up the three-coin set?.. you beast!..
i used the quarterly special at the Long Beach show to submit my 2007-W Jamestown Gold Unc., bought directly from the Mint late last year.. got the grade on Friday.. PCGS MS70 ..
also submitted my two-coin 10nd Anniversary Platinum set.. got PCGS PR69DCAM on the Proof and PCGS PR70 on the Reverse Proof.. i got those back since i paid extra for five-day service.. this is the FIRST time i've ever submitted anything to PCGS and gotten a 70, much less two 70s in one sit-down submission..
i also submitted four crossover slabs.. will reveal what i submitted and what the results were when i get the grades.. they haven't been posted yet.. {{squirm squirm}}.. >>
Speaking of one of this thread's wonderful posters, Harv's posts have been informative, interesting, and funny too.
Harv, you put a good guilt trip on me....now I'm having second thoughts on submitting that Gold Proof from the 3 coin set.
Nope. The only problem is that one of the orders was over 2500 bucks so I had to wire them money... They will only let you charge 2500 a month on any card, even if it is a debit card. Why in the heck do they limit how much you can charge for crying out loud! Are they not a business?
<< <i> Speaking of one of this thread's wonderful posters, Harv's posts have been informative, interesting, and funny too.
Harv, you put a good guilt trip on me....now I'm having second thoughts on submitting that Gold Proof from the 3 coin set.
Great going with the PCGS 70's!!! >>
Hi..
thanks.. real life is depressing enough.. i figure as long as i'm posting here for fun, i might as well make it fun to read and, when i can, informative..
i stared at that Jamestown for a couple of months (through its capsule) and i thought.. damn, this coin is perfect.. it HAS to be a 70.. so of course they'll give it a 69.. i was, to put it mildly, pleasantly surprised.. i was hoping for 70 70 on the Platinum set, but i'm satisified they at least gave the Reverse Proof a 70.. that makes it at least a $2000.00 coin (roughly the price of the set).. not selling the pair (along with the fancy wood box).. until the Mint decides what they're going to do about putting it back on sale, or just keeping it off-sale forever, which i'd obviously prefer.. which will keep the Mintage of the Reverse Proof around 17,000, not the ridiculous 30,000 they had planned to sell..
as far as the three-coin Baldies set.. well my Gold Proof MIGHT make a 70.. but if i was going to submit them, i would have bought singles.. i did buy a couple singles of the DollErs and Halves and not a single one of them would make a 70.. but i have plenty of other stuff worth submitting.. God only knows how many 70s i might have lurking in my collection.. lots and lots of raw Modern Commemoratives, decades of Proof and Mint sets.. i wouldn't even know where to start..
i can tell ya one thing though.. DON'T take anything out of its capsule, if it's a Modern in a capsule.. let THEM take it out.. all it'd take is one oops, one fingerprint, one slip of the hands, one sneeze, and you can kiss any possibility of a 70 goodbye..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
i can tell ya one thing though.. DON'T take anything out of its capsule, if it's a Modern in a capsule.. let THEM take it out.. all it'd take is one oops, one fingerprint, one slip of the hands, one sneeze, and you can kiss any possibility of a 70 goodbye..
I could not agree with you more!!!!!! Sage advice for any new modern submitters out there!!!!
I should have my three coin set tomorrow. Interesting: I didn't know that the US Mint uses FedEx for some of its shipments. I have a question: for a coin to MS or PF 70, is it not allowed to have any toning spots (even if it is pinhead size)? Or does the 70 grade only mean that a coin is free of any manufacturing-related defects? I have a nice two piece Civil War Set, but I don't think it is worth submitting because the silver dollar has one of those 'pinhead', light brown toning spots. Thanks for educating a novice
<< <i>I should have my three coin set tomorrow. Interesting: I didn't know that the US Mint uses FedEx for some of its shipments. I have a question: for a coin to MS or PF 70, is it not allowed to have any toning spots (even if it is pinhead size)? Or does the 70 grade only mean that a coin is free of any manufacturing-related defects? I have a nice two piece Civil War Set, but I don't think it is worth submitting because the silver dollar has one of those 'pinhead', light brown toning spots. Thanks for educating a novice >>
Hi..
the Mint ships any single invoiced order priced over $300.00 by Fedex.. you automatically get "expedited shipping" on >$300.00 orders, so don't ever pay for expedited shipping if you're buying that much at once..
is your two piece Civil War Proof set in the cool "Union case" or in the regular clamshell case?.. if the former, i'd recommend you leave it alone.. those Union cased-sets are rare and worth a nice premium.. the Mint NEVER published sales figures for those.. and they show up VERY rarely on eBay.. indicating they didn't make many of them.. compared to the regular packaging option.. (i nabbed one from a local dealer some years ago who wasn't up on current prices, for $43.00.. it's VERY cool.. they go for about $150.00 now, and the three piece version with the Gold for more like $700.00.. the 1995 Civil War Gold is one of the "semi-keys" of the Modern Gold commemoratives..) ..
generally speaking, if a Modern Proof coin has a tiny toning spot on it, it adds negative eye appeal to it.. and is unlikely to get a 70.. if it's eaten into the metal, they might even bodybag it for "environmental damage".. that spot probably means some speck of crud landed on the coin before it went into the capsule and took years to develop into a dark spot.. i have a 1983 Prestige Proof set (the first year they made those).. when my late Dad bought it back in 1983 from the Mint, it was perfect.. over the course of many years, the Lincoln cent developed a BLACK fingerprint on it.. totally invisible when it was new, and only the cent, the oils in the fingerprint changed over time into black toning.. none of the other coins in the set have any problems.. really pisses me off because the 1983 is worth a nice premium, but with that fingerprint on the cent.. well.. ..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
<< <i>Here are the two I am sending in, just re-imaged them today. They should ship out by Tuesday or Wednesday, working on what to send with them and just about have it narrowed down. Congrats on your thread busting 1000 Goldbully!
>>
Thanks rg................as usual awesome pics!!!
Interesting shadowing in those silver frosty fields!!!!!
Thanks for the explanations, hrlaser. One more question: there is no benefit to keeping my three-coin set sealed in its original packaging, because no grading services are offering grading service for the whole set (labeling all three coins as being part of a set), right?
<< <i>Thanks for the explanations, hrlaser. One more question: there is no benefit to keeping my three-coin set sealed in its original packaging, because no grading services are offering grading service for the whole set (labeling all three coins as being part of a set), right? >>
Hi..
okay, here are the reasons you might want to keep it sealed in its original shipping carton.. or not.. but first, as far as "no grading service".. after years and years of watching slabbed coin prices, i've come to the determination that unless something radically changes what's going on.. PCGS is the only TPG i'll ever submit coins to for slabbing.. even if NGC is 100% as accurate (which i truly believe they are).. the market perception is that PCGS is tighter, more conservative, and on Modern Commemoratives or almost any Modern coin, a PCGS 70 is worth anywhere from double to ten times as much for the exact same coin in the same grade as it is in an NGC slab.. so, until or unless that perception changes, PCGS gets my business.. whether my (and a lot of other folks') perception is malarky or has some basis in fact.. i honestly don't know.. i still think there is something wrong with the owner of PCGS also being a coin dealer.. you can't say that, as far as i know, about NGC, ANACS, or ICG, and the other slabbers i wouldn't send rusty washers to.. those are the only four whose slabs have *any* kind of respectability.. and right now, with the changes and merging and un-merging of ANACS and ICG, i'd even stay away from them.. until the dust settles..
so the reaons you might want to open it, or not open it, off the top of my head..
- you decide to sell it on eBay.. some people will pay more money for a sealed set because they know the coins inside haven't been swapped out / replaced / messed with / taken out of their capsules - downside is you'll never get to see them, and someone who buys it might decide to get them slabbed and get 70s.. or not.. do you want to know what you missed out on so you can spend a few months kicking yourself?.. sell it sealed to someone who's going to have them slabbed, then he tells you "hey, i got three 70s!".. been there, done that.. ain't fun..
- you have more than one or decide to buy another one, either sealed and open it, or already opened, so you sock this one away still sealed and keep an eye on the prices.. sealed sets are bringing $450.00 or more.. but remember the fees involved in sellling it on eBay, and PayPal (if you choose to use it) takes their cut.. and remember how much you paid for it to begin with.. not a lot of profit there.. but at least it IS sold out.. i sold a Proof Mercury Dime on eBay last night.. although i had PayPal on the auction, when i invoiced the buyer i asked him if he'd send a Money order or a Cashiers check instead.. why should i let PayPay take three percent of my sale just to get paid a couple days faster?.. he's sending a Money order.. most people will if you ask them nicely..
- there is absolutely NO advantage to keeping it sealed and sumitting the sealed box.. the coins are not eligible for any kind of "First Strike" or "Bald Eagle set" or other kind of fancy labels.. at least not from PCGS..
- you might not want to keep it sealed because you paid almost four hundred clams for it, and that's like buying a four hundred buck computer, or teevee, or anything else, and never taking it out of its box.. of course if i could go back to 1961 and buy a truckload of toys like.. oh.. Ideal Robot Commandos or something similar, and have them to this day, still sealed in their original huge cardboard cartons with the original staples, i could get a freakin' fortune for them on eBay.. if i had though to buy 100 copies of the MONO pressing of Sgt. Peppers (1967) or Magical Mystery Tour (1968.. the last Beatles album pressed in Mono).. and had kept them sealed to this day, i could get from $500.00 to $1000.00 EACH for them.. did i? of course not.. NO ONE bought multiples of records pressed in the millions back then to sock a bunch away to sell on eBay decades later (which didn't exist) over the Internet (which didn't exist).. you bought a record, played it, wore it out, threw it out, and bought another one for a few bucks.. {{kicking self}}..
i opened my Baldies set the day the mailman handed it to me.. i went through so much crap just GETTING it from the Mint and i have no intention to have its coins slabbed or to sell it (yet).. and i wanted to see what i had paid for after weeks of waiting and Tracking and phone calls and all the other bullcrap they put us through by forcing us to order by phone because some genius at the Mint decided to take down their Web site the same day they put this series on sale.. the Director of the Mint should have been fired because of this.. instead, he issues a tepid apology, and that's it..
so, ultimately, it's your decision.. i think it's too soon to sell them, these sets anyway.. like i've been saying, there is an extremely slim chance that there is something *different* about the coins in this set.. that they aren't just the three singles shoved into a fancy case.. ultimately, it's up to the variety experts to determine that, and the Mint has said not one single word about there being any kind of special finish to them, or that they are from different dies or are pattern coins, ala the Cheerios DollErs (which are now worth a fortune).. or like the Brass Bucks in the Millineum Coin and Currency set which DO have a special finish, at least some of them do..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
No benefit if you are keeping it and don't plan to sell it anytime soon. The only benefit to keeping it sealed may be if you plan on selling it, buyers, if they care would know it hasn't been searched, screened and picked over.
Edit: What he said, except for the last part, by now I'd expect the pros would have noticed any subtle differences what with their microscopes and good eyesight, and lastly depending on the ship date/storm water damage potential I might wanna take a look see.
<< <i>i can tell ya one thing though.. DON'T take anything out of its capsule, if it's a Modern in a capsule.. let THEM take it out.. all it'd take is one oops, one fingerprint, one slip of the hands, one sneeze, and you can kiss any possibility of a 70 goodbye..
I could not agree with you more!!!!!! Sage advice for any new modern submitters out there!!!! >>
i put all my submissions in flips....after getting back come pretty marked up proofs that went out to them in capusles. their lack of QC amazes me
OK I am now torn. I am getting ready to send in a submission, and could use a couple more coins to send in, so I redid the pictures on my 3 coin set proof set. I promise unless asked, this will be the LAST time I post these here, but what do you think, should I send these in, with the intention of selling the 3 coin set slabbed (and possibly getting a 70 out of either the gold or silver), or not, and just sell it as an original set with great pictures? The money to get them slabbed isn't really an issue, and I just checked, and out of all of the Bald Eagles on ebay (over 400 auctions), there are only 21 in PCGS slabs, and no 70s and I don't think I saw any gold, maybe one proof in 69, although there are some silver 70's in NGC plastic. Any comments appreciated.
without putting each of the close-up pictures into a paint program and drawing circles and arrows on them, i'm seeing frost breaks and pinpoint hits on all three of them.. my opinion for whatever it's worth is that none of them would make a 70.. no matter how good a picture is, and those are excellent, it's physically impossible for me to hold each coin under a light and swivel it.. i briefly OWNED a PCGS PR70DCAM SF Old Mint $5.00 Gold which had ONE pinpoint hit on one of the building's windows.. i don't know how the grader missed it.. it was tiny but it was definitely there.. had *i* submitted it, i'm sure it would've gotten a 69.. i bought it off TeleTrade, and that hit was not visible when i looked at the coin straight on, but a very slight tilt of the slab and it jumped out at me like a Xenon headlight.. i returned it and got 100% of my money back because i had never returned anything to TeleTrade before.. they're your coins and it's your money and graders are human and have good days and bad days.. but you asked, and that's just my opinion..
not to belabor the point, but my 2007-W Jamestown Gold Unc., which got MS70 from PCGS.. like i said before, i stared that that coin for a couple of months and when i joined the club at the Long Beach show, i decided to use it for my free Gold submission.. i didn't have the Bald Eagle set ten, or, if i did, decided i didn't want to break it up.. the Jamestown looked absolutely perfect to me.. i studied it and studied it, and no matter how i tilted or swivelled it (always IN its capsule).. i couldn't detect a single flaw of any kind anywhere on it.. so i decided to give it a shot, and it got what i hoped it would get..
looking at my two 10nd Anniversary Platinums, i can see why they gave the regular Proof a 69 and the Reverse Proof a 70.. since i had to submit them in the sealed box, i only got to look at them for mere seconds at the show before the capules went into flips and the flips got the submission form rubber-banded around it and away they went.. but i was still going to submit both of them anyway.. but that box had to stay sealed to get the holy "First Strike" labels.. agonizing to say the least to have a $2000.00 investment sitting here for a couple months without being able to open it.. now Platinum has taken a huge dump over the past couple of days.. sigh.. so this isn't the time to sell..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
Thanks guys, and to clarify just a little, I took the obverse covers off, and blew the coins with canned air, but the coins did not come out of the cases easy. I didn't want to push it just to take the pics, so the reverses probably have a bit of dust still as they were taken through the original cases. The gold, I believe what you are seeing are reflections, not marks. That said, I realize even if there are no issues, a 70 is still a long shot, so worst case scenario, I believe anyway, would be a PCGS grades PR69DCAM set with all the original packaging. This is my first time to buy something from the mint with the intention to sell it. Would you think that a 3 coin set graded by PCGS as PR69DCAM would bring a premium to just the original government packaging, or am I just really stretching here?
I finally got my return coin and I LOVE THE DESIGN. IMO, and I stress IMO, I think my dollar proof coin is a cloone of the one you posted, In fact, I would say its a DCAM.
However, I am very anxious to see how these things grade (what folks et, i dont slab normally) given the issues they had in their initial shipments. Recall that I sent back 1 coin. My half proof arrived without a hitch, BUT, the capsule was open. Sad to say, QC was NOT what it could have been with this series.
<< <i>Would you think that a 3 coin set graded by PCGS as PR69DCAM would bring a premium to just the original government packaging, or am I just really stretching here? >>
Hi..
to be honest, i haven't been watching PCGS 69s on eBay so i couldn't tell you.. since there are only 25,000 of these sets, if you plan to sell.. i think it's better to sell them in the original case, rather than sell three one-point-shy-of-perfect coins with an empty case, but what do i know?.. go check eBay and see what 69s are fetching.. if anyone has sold all three Proof 69s as a trio with the empty case and i guess that'll answer your question.. all things being equal, the way Modern Commemoratives are produced, NONE should ever grade under a 69, at least not the ones produced in recent years.. look at the population reports.. the farther back in time you go, the more 68s and 67s you start seeing.. does this mean PCGS is getting looser, or the Mint is getting better?.. i don't know.. all i do know is that a triple 70 set would hit the jackpot.. but these Baldies have problems.. a lot of them do, due to the storm damage at the Fedex facility.. were yours shipped to you before or after 05 February, 2008?.. that was the day the storms hit..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
Thanks Harv, you are probably right, I would just be throwing another 60-70 bucks at it for nothing in all likelihood. I got mine Baldies a week before the storms. I was just looking to bounce the idea off you guys, I have a fairly small submission, with one biggie in it, and the free gold (the uncirc bald eagle is filling in for that one), so I was just considering adding this set to it. Thanks for all your comments, and if I do throw good money after bad, I will report back still!
I just got the results of my gold Bald Eagles. 4/12 isn't too bad
PCGS No. CoinDate Denomination Variety Country Grade 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR70DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR70DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394419 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US MS70 394419 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US MS70
'but these Baldies have problems.. a lot of them do, due to the storm damage at the Fedex facility.. were yours shipped to you before or after 05 February, 2008?.. that was the day the storms hit..'
Thanks for all of the earlier information. I'm a collector, not a speculator/investor. Even a couple of years ago, I would have found the idea of keeping a US Mint purchase sealed in its original shipping container to be strange and (dare I say) stupid. Coins are meant to be enjoyed! When I received my 20th Anniversary ASE set in 2006, I immediately opened it. But then, I found out that PCGS would only grade and label them as a set if they were unsealed. No worries, since I enjoyed looking at them. But over the next year, I heard more and more about how elusive these 70 grades are (and the premium that is paid for them). So eventually, I lamented my decision to open the original packaging.
Fast forward to today, and I was actually considering keeping my three coin Bald Eagle set sealed in its packing (As much as I profess to be a pure collector, I guess that there is invariably a little bit of the speculative fever in all of us. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking about the pros and cons of opening my package Your relating news of possible storm damage (my god, you mean my packaging and coins could have water damage; I read news of the flood, but I gave the US Mint enough credit that they would not send damaged goods. I guess this was a foolhardy assumption on my part) has settled the matter, and I will definitely open up my coins to inspect them.
<< <i>I just got the results of my gold Bald Eagles. 4/12 isn't too bad
PCGS No. CoinDate Denomination Variety Country Grade 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR70DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR70DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC 394419 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US MS70 394419 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US MS70 >>
Hi..
Hmm.. from this list and what i've read here earlier, it looks like PR70s are a lot more elusive than MS70s the Golds.. you got 20% 70s on the Proofs, and 100% on the Uncs.. Hmm..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
I opened up my three piece set last night. One thing that I would like to know: without opening the capsule, is there any way to tell whether the splotch/scratch-shaped marks that are visible are: 1) on the surface of the coin itself; or 2) on the capsule. On my gold piece, there is this splotchy shaped mark. There is another similarly, but not the exact same-shaped mark that appears to be on the surface of the capsule (hence, I can't be certain whether they are mirror images). I've tried tilting and angling the light on the area, but (as far as I can see), it's impossible to tell whether the actual scratch/splotch is on the coin or the capsule. I would really hate to open the capsule, because: 1) that would allow minute, invisible impurities to settle on the coin and 2) I am rather ham-fisted and may fumble the capsule/have some other disaster (I've seen on this thread some beautiful pictures of the Blad Eagle Coins sans their protective capsules. Some of our posters are much braver and more coordinated than this 'all thumbs' guy Assuming the mark is on my gold coin, I suppose I can't return it for exchange since the mint is sold out, right? Thanks!
<< <i>I opened up my three piece set last night. One thing that I would like to know: without opening the capsule, is there any way to tell whether the splotch/scratch-shaped marks that are visible are: 1) on the surface of the coin itself; or 2) on the capsule. On my gold piece, there is this splotchy shaped mark. There is another similarly, but not the exact same-shaped mark that appears to be on the surface of the capsule (hence, I can't be certain whether they are mirror images). I've tried tilting and angling the light on the area, but (as far as I can see), it's impossible to tell whether the actual scratch/splotch is on the coin or the capsule. I would really hate to open the capsule, because: 1) that would allow minute, invisible impurities to settle on the coin and 2) I am rather ham-fisted and may fumble the capsule/have some other disaster (I've seen on this thread some beautiful pictures of the Blad Eagle Coins sans their protective capsules. Some of our posters are much braver and more coordinated than this 'all thumbs' guy Assuming the mark is on my gold coin, I suppose I can't return it for exchange since the mint is sold out, right? Thanks! >>
buy a proof gold, take that one and put that in your 3 coin set and return the bad one. that might work.
<< <i>I opened up my three piece set last night. One thing that I would like to know: without opening the capsule, is there any way to tell whether the splotch/scratch-shaped marks that are visible are: 1) on the surface of the coin itself; or 2) on the capsule. On my gold piece, there is this splotchy shaped mark. There is another similarly, but not the exact same-shaped mark that appears to be on the surface of the capsule (hence, I can't be certain whether they are mirror images). I've tried tilting and angling the light on the area, but (as far as I can see), it's impossible to tell whether the actual scratch/splotch is on the coin or the capsule. I would really hate to open the capsule, because: 1) that would allow minute, invisible impurities to settle on the coin and 2) I am rather ham-fisted and may fumble the capsule/have some other disaster (I've seen on this thread some beautiful pictures of the Blad Eagle Coins sans their protective capsules. Some of our posters are much braver and more coordinated than this 'all thumbs' guy Assuming the mark is on my gold coin, I suppose I can't return it for exchange since the mint is sold out, right? Thanks! >>
Hi..
from your description, that's what it sounds like.. that a mark on the capsule is reflecting off the coin.. how about if you hold the coin between thumb and fore-finger, facing downwards, and give it a quick twist, so that it rotates a bit and re-orients itself in the capsule? the splotch, if it is on the capsule will then reflect off a different area of the coin, proving it's on the capsule, and not the coin..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
buy a proof gold, take that one and put that in your 3 coin set and return the bad one. that might work. >>
Coin Werld - August 12, 2008 - Variety and error expert Ken Weinberger has discovered the 2008-W $5.00 Gold Proof Bald Eagle Commemorative included in the 25,000 three-coin Proof sets, which sold out in late February, 2008, differs from the coins sold as a single-coin option by the US Mint. "This is the most exciting variety i've ever seen since the 2004 'extra leaf' Wisconsin quarters in 2004" said Weinberger. Coin Werld has obtained a sample set and compared the Gold Proof coin to one sold as a single coin option. See magnified pictures below. Weinberger believes a set of trial dies were used for coining the 25,000 Proofs that were included in the sets. "The differences are subtle, but obvious. I'd estimate these coins should bring between $5000.00 and $10,000.00 each, depending on grade." Upon release of this news, the Bald Eagle three-coin Proof set's price on eBay, jumped from the $450.00 - $500.00 range to a low of $12,500.00 for open sets, to $19,230.00 for sets still in their sealed US Mint shipping boxes. So far, one example graded PR70DCAM by independent grading service, PGCS, fetched $15,020.00 (plus buyers fees) in a recent TeleTroid auction. US Mint spokesman Michael Black had no comment after learning of Weinberger's discovery.
Copyright Wishful Thinking News Service, 2008. No rights reserved..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
I like the DOLLARS and have spoken out on how UGLY and cluttered the half designs are...well, my order of 5 proof dollars and 2 unc dollars somehow ended up with 2 HALVES instead of UNC's.
Go Figure. Why couldn't I have gotten the gold baldies mixed up instead?
Now I have to wait another month or two to get by UNC's.
BTW -- the proofs are beautiful. Most impressive design I've seen since the silver eagles came out.
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Thank you, I copied this off a thread I posted on the darkside:
I learned everything on the CU forum really just in the last 6 months that I know about taking pictures. My setup is pretty basic, a 30 dollar copy stand, 2 clamp lights and one desk light with reveal bulbs, and a used Nikon 995 I got off ebay for about 200 dollars. For proofs, I use a cut up milk gallon jug to diffuse the lighting usually. This link HERE has a pictorial of my setup on the second page of the thread.
The templates I use are a slight variation from spacemonkeys, which can be found HERE . I could never get them to look exactly like everyone else for some reason, so I just changed the reverse on the bottom to "hard light" instead of "overlay" to get the effect I use.
<< <i>PR 70 Baldie over 800 dollars and still plenty of time left in the auction! WOW (not mine) EBAY >>
>>
That's over the top.
I'd hold off. I just got my grades for Economy that were put in the PCGS system on 2/8/08 !!! That's 25 working days !! Concidering most Bald eagles hadn't even shipped by then I would guess there will be a bunch graded and hitting Ebay over the next few weeks.
That one sold for 809, the same guy sold a MS 70 Uncirc for over 600 also, there are not a lot of PCGS graded of these on ebay, let alone 70s. UncircAuction
got uh email from that Mint place.. Baldies coin undt medal set back-ordered some more, pushed back to April Fools Day.. seems appropriate somehow.. guess now that they've cleaned up the warehouse, they have to find some new sacks of gravel and mud and debris and dog poop to drag them through before they ship 'em.. [x] cancel box is still on my order.. i know if i cancel it, it'll sell out the next day and suddely shoot up in value.. if i don't cancel it, i'll get it and it'll be selling at issue price for the next thousand years like the Marines coin and stamp set, the Ben Franklin coin and AlmanacK set, (which is really cool).. the Edison light bulb set, (which WAS really cool except its battery conked out after a few years.. gotta figure out what kinda battery is in there and put in another one..) .. those Westward Journey Nickel sets (are any of those little square blue boxed sets with the Nickels and the Brass Buck and Medal worth anything yet?..) .. and all the other "special" sets i've got collecting dust.. grr..
gotta start saving up for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Saint reproduction they're gonna sell.. let's see.. if i get a jar and stuff $10.00 a day into it for the next year, that should be enough to buy one.. sigh..
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.. I don't do these things to other people.. I require the same of them.." - John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
Well, I tried hrlaser's idea of flipping my gold coin in its capsule, but I still couldn't really tell what layer the marks were on. I finally decided to risk opening my gold bald eagle capsule from my three coin set. Even this klutz was able to open it without damaging the coin. As it turns out, the imperfections I could see were in fact on the surface of the coin. I'm not quite what sure they were: they were the shape of fat scratches (maybe a mm wide), but there was no metal visibly moved. And they didn't look like the ridges of a fingerprint. Being that the three-coin set has sold out, I didn't know if it was possible for me to exchange the whole set or if my only option was to return it for a refund.
So, I called US Mint customer service and explained my two problems (the other being the matter of recouping my shipping costs for a defective, Silver Dollar Proof that I had to mail back). The first rep I spoke with was neither rude nor caring; she just spoke in a monotone voice and transferred me to a 'senior rep'. In making my first request to have my return shipping refunded, the lady spoke in a very polite tone 'we can absolutely do that for you'. When I explained to her the second matter of wanting to exchange my three-coin set because the gold coin was marred, she told me that by returning the set, I would likely get my money back. When I told her, 'so I should return the three-coin set with the return form completed', her tone became very annoyed,'No. That's not what I said. YOU AREN'T LISTENING TO ME. If you send back an EA7, they're going to give you your $369.95 back.... (inflection on the middle phrase)' I was so taken aback by this sudden change in demeanor that I apologized to her 'I'm sorry. I misunderstood you.'
She told me 'you need to buy a EA%' for $319.95, and then exchange it with the gold coin in your EA7. Then send back the EA% (can't remember the third digit). In all fairness, maybe I think she did tell me this the first time, and maybe I wasn't listening carefully enough At any rate, I told her that I didn't realize that it was allowed to switch identical coins between sets. She told me that she had ordered a three-coin set and ten each of the proof non-gold coins. Her fifty cent piece had a scratch so she just switched it with one of the ten half dollars and returned that single coin.
She did process my return shipping refund. I've decided to just return my three-coin set, because I can't afford to front another $300.00 + just to exchange out my gold coins. Tough break. I was a little surprised that the mint's employees recommend swapping out coins like that. I guess it makes sense if the coins are identical. Anyone had a not so great experience with talking with US Mint customer service (read: rep getting annoyed at you, etc.)?
Comments
<< <i>
<< <i>I guess this thread will never see a thousand posts like rgCoinGuy said it would......
1000 Can I do that? >>
You did it Jesse................1000th post!!!!!!
Thank you and sooo many others for making this such a great thread!!!!!
I'm sending in One Gold Proof from the 3 coiner, and also one Gold Unc....I get to use the CC special on one of them.
I wonder what would be better to send on the quarterly special, the Unc of the Proof???
Not sure if it's worth sending in the silver dollars....Ill look them over real close just in case I think I can get a 70.
GB
We both got our coins about the same time, within 1 day. And they were accepted by PCGS bulk on the same day, and they were graded on the same day. The only difference was that I wrapped my 200 coins in 5/16th inch bubble wrap and then vacuume sealed the bags. I just put his in ziplock bags. Both were shipped via USPS Express mail. I wonder if the method of travel actually had something to do with the difference in grades.....
<< <i>I'm sending in One Gold Proof from the 3 coiner, and also one Gold Unc....I get to use the CC special on one of them.
I wonder what would be better to send on the quarterly special, the Unc of the Proof???
Not sure if it's worth sending in the silver dollars....Ill look them over real close just in case I think I can get a 70.
GB >>
you're breaking up the three-coin set?.. you beast!..
i used the quarterly special at the Long Beach show to submit my 2007-W Jamestown Gold Unc., bought directly from the Mint late last year.. got the grade on Friday.. PCGS MS70
also submitted my two-coin 10nd Anniversary Platinum set.. got PCGS PR69DCAM on the Proof and PCGS PR70 on the Reverse Proof.. i got those back since i paid extra for five-day service.. this is the FIRST time i've ever submitted anything to PCGS and gotten a 70, much less two 70s in one sit-down submission..
i also submitted four crossover slabs.. i didn't crack them out, and i also specified (on the advice of a friend).. to submit them to cross at existing grades or better.. no down-grading.. i have NO idea what PCGS will give them.. but ONE of the coins currently has a population of 2 in MS68 and mine's in an NGC MS67 slab.. i suppose the chances are near zero that PCGS will upgrade it one point, but i had to try, because the difference in value is close to $5000.00 for that one point jump.. will reveal what i submitted and what the results were when i get the grades.. they haven't been posted yet.. {{squirm squirm}}..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
<< <i>I sent in 100 of the proof and 100 of the unc. The order came back with 32 MS70 and 5 PR70. I submitted 100 unc and 100 proof for a friend, his came back with 11 MS70 and 4 PR70.
We both got our coins about the same time, within 1 day. And they were accepted by PCGS bulk on the same day, and they were graded on the same day. The only difference was that I wrapped my 200 coins in 5/16th inch bubble wrap and then vacuume sealed the bags. I just put his in ziplock bags. Both were shipped via USPS Express mail. I wonder if the method of travel actually had something to do with the difference in grades..... >>
Nice grades Jesse...you can't complain.
<< <i>
<< <i>I'm sending in One Gold Proof from the 3 coiner, and also one Gold Unc....I get to use the CC special on one of them.
I wonder what would be better to send on the quarterly special, the Unc of the Proof???
Not sure if it's worth sending in the silver dollars....Ill look them over real close just in case I think I can get a 70.
GB >>
you're breaking up the three-coin set?.. you beast!..
i used the quarterly special at the Long Beach show to submit my 2007-W Jamestown Gold Unc., bought directly from the Mint late last year.. got the grade on Friday.. PCGS MS70
also submitted my two-coin 10nd Anniversary Platinum set.. got PCGS PR69DCAM on the Proof and PCGS PR70 on the Reverse Proof.. i got those back since i paid extra for five-day service.. this is the FIRST time i've ever submitted anything to PCGS and gotten a 70, much less two 70s in one sit-down submission..
i also submitted four crossover slabs.. will reveal what i submitted and what the results were when i get the grades.. they haven't been posted yet.. {{squirm squirm}}.. >>
Speaking of one of this thread's wonderful posters, Harv's posts have been informative, interesting, and funny too.
Harv, you put a good guilt trip on me....now I'm having second thoughts on submitting that Gold Proof from the 3 coin set.
Great going with the PCGS 70's!!!
<< <i>
Speaking of one of this thread's wonderful posters, Harv's posts have been informative, interesting, and funny too.
Harv, you put a good guilt trip on me....now I'm having second thoughts on submitting that Gold Proof from the 3 coin set.
Great going with the PCGS 70's!!!
Hi..
thanks.. real life is depressing enough.. i figure as long as i'm posting here for fun, i might as well make it fun to read and, when i can, informative..
i stared at that Jamestown for a couple of months (through its capsule) and i thought.. damn, this coin is perfect.. it HAS to be a 70.. so of course they'll give it a 69.. i was, to put it mildly, pleasantly surprised.. i was hoping for 70 70 on the Platinum set, but i'm satisified they at least gave the Reverse Proof a 70.. that makes it at least a $2000.00 coin (roughly the price of the set).. not selling the pair (along with the fancy wood box).. until the Mint decides what they're going to do about putting it back on sale, or just keeping it off-sale forever, which i'd obviously prefer.. which will keep the Mintage of the Reverse Proof around 17,000, not the ridiculous 30,000 they had planned to sell..
as far as the three-coin Baldies set.. well my Gold Proof MIGHT make a 70.. but if i was going to submit them, i would have bought singles.. i did buy a couple singles of the DollErs and Halves and not a single one of them would make a 70.. but i have plenty of other stuff worth submitting.. God only knows how many 70s i might have lurking in my collection..
lots and lots of raw Modern Commemoratives, decades of Proof and Mint sets.. i wouldn't even know where to start..
i can tell ya one thing though.. DON'T take anything out of its capsule, if it's a Modern in a capsule.. let THEM take it out.. all it'd take is one oops, one fingerprint, one slip of the hands, one sneeze, and you can kiss any possibility of a 70 goodbye..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
I could not agree with you more!!!!!! Sage advice for any new modern submitters out there!!!!
<< <i>I should have my three coin set tomorrow. Interesting: I didn't know that the US Mint uses FedEx for some of its shipments. I have a question: for a coin to MS or PF 70, is it not allowed to have any toning spots (even if it is pinhead size)? Or does the 70 grade only mean that a coin is free of any manufacturing-related defects? I have a nice two piece Civil War Set, but I don't think it is worth submitting because the silver dollar has one of those 'pinhead', light brown toning spots. Thanks for educating a novice
Hi..
the Mint ships any single invoiced order priced over $300.00 by Fedex.. you automatically get "expedited shipping" on >$300.00 orders, so don't ever pay for expedited shipping if you're buying that much at once..
is your two piece Civil War Proof set in the cool "Union case" or in the regular clamshell case?.. if the former, i'd recommend you leave it alone.. those Union cased-sets are rare and worth a nice premium.. the Mint NEVER published sales figures for those.. and they show up VERY rarely on eBay.. indicating they didn't make many of them.. compared to the regular packaging option.. (i nabbed one from a local dealer some years ago who wasn't up on current prices, for $43.00.. it's VERY cool.. they go for about $150.00 now, and the three piece version with the Gold for more like $700.00.. the 1995 Civil War Gold is one of the "semi-keys" of the Modern Gold commemoratives..) ..
generally speaking, if a Modern Proof coin has a tiny toning spot on it, it adds negative eye appeal to it.. and is unlikely to get a 70.. if it's eaten into the metal, they might even bodybag it for "environmental damage".. that spot probably means some speck of crud landed on the coin before it went into the capsule and took years to develop into a dark spot.. i have a 1983 Prestige Proof set (the first year they made those).. when my late Dad bought it back in 1983 from the Mint, it was perfect.. over the course of many years, the Lincoln cent developed a BLACK fingerprint on it.. totally invisible when it was new, and only the cent, the oils in the fingerprint changed over time into black toning.. none of the other coins in the set have any problems.. really pisses me off because the 1983 is worth a nice premium, but with that fingerprint on the cent.. well..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
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<< <i>Jesse, how much did they charge for 69 in prf and 70 in prf?? Did you have any grade 68 or less? >>
It was $12 for 69's and $30 for 70's. I did not get a single 68.
<< <i>Here are the two I am sending in, just re-imaged them today. They should ship out by Tuesday or Wednesday, working on what to send with them and just about have it narrowed down. Congrats on your thread busting 1000 Goldbully!
Thanks rg................as usual awesome pics!!!
Interesting shadowing in those silver frosty fields!!!!!
Look like 70's to me.....Good Luck!!!!
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<< <i>Thanks for the explanations, hrlaser. One more question: there is no benefit to keeping my three-coin set sealed in its original packaging, because no grading services are offering grading service for the whole set (labeling all three coins as being part of a set), right? >>
Hi..
okay, here are the reasons you might want to keep it sealed in its original shipping carton.. or not.. but first, as far as "no grading service".. after years and years of watching slabbed coin prices, i've come to the determination that unless something radically changes what's going on.. PCGS is the only TPG i'll ever submit coins to for slabbing.. even if NGC is 100% as accurate (which i truly believe they are).. the market perception is that PCGS is tighter, more conservative, and on Modern Commemoratives or almost any Modern coin, a PCGS 70 is worth anywhere from double to ten times as much for the exact same coin in the same grade as it is in an NGC slab.. so, until or unless that perception changes, PCGS gets my business.. whether my (and a lot of other folks') perception is malarky or has some basis in fact.. i honestly don't know.. i still think there is something wrong with the owner of PCGS also being a coin dealer.. you can't say that, as far as i know, about NGC, ANACS, or ICG, and the other slabbers i wouldn't send rusty washers to.. those are the only four whose slabs have *any* kind of respectability.. and right now, with the changes and merging and un-merging of ANACS and ICG, i'd even stay away from them.. until the dust settles..
so the reaons you might want to open it, or not open it, off the top of my head..
- you decide to sell it on eBay.. some people will pay more money for a sealed set because they know the coins inside haven't been swapped out / replaced / messed with / taken out of their capsules - downside is you'll never get to see them, and someone who buys it might decide to get them slabbed and get 70s.. or not.. do you want to know what you missed out on so you can spend a few months kicking yourself?.. sell it sealed to someone who's going to have them slabbed, then he tells you "hey, i got three 70s!".. been there, done that.. ain't fun..
- you have more than one or decide to buy another one, either sealed and open it, or already opened, so you sock this one away still sealed and keep an eye on the prices.. sealed sets are bringing $450.00 or more.. but remember the fees involved in sellling it on eBay, and PayPal (if you choose to use it) takes their cut.. and remember how much you paid for it to begin with.. not a lot of profit there.. but at least it IS sold out.. i sold a Proof Mercury Dime on eBay last night.. although i had PayPal on the auction, when i invoiced the buyer i asked him if he'd send a Money order or a Cashiers check instead.. why should i let PayPay take three percent of my sale just to get paid a couple days faster?.. he's sending a Money order.. most people will if you ask them nicely..
- there is absolutely NO advantage to keeping it sealed and sumitting the sealed box.. the coins are not eligible for any kind of "First Strike" or "Bald Eagle set" or other kind of fancy labels.. at least not from PCGS..
- you might not want to keep it sealed because you paid almost four hundred clams for it, and that's like buying a four hundred buck computer, or teevee, or anything else, and never taking it out of its box.. of course if i could go back to 1961 and buy a truckload of toys like.. oh.. Ideal Robot Commandos or something similar, and have them to this day, still sealed in their original huge cardboard cartons with the original staples, i could get a freakin' fortune for them on eBay.. if i had though to buy 100 copies of the MONO pressing of Sgt. Peppers (1967) or Magical Mystery Tour (1968.. the last Beatles album pressed in Mono).. and had kept them sealed to this day, i could get from $500.00 to $1000.00 EACH for them.. did i? of course not.. NO ONE bought multiples of records pressed in the millions back then to sock a bunch away to sell on eBay decades later (which didn't exist) over the Internet (which didn't exist).. you bought a record, played it, wore it out, threw it out, and bought another one for a few bucks.. {{kicking self}}..
i opened my Baldies set the day the mailman handed it to me.. i went through so much crap just GETTING it from the Mint and i have no intention to have its coins slabbed or to sell it (yet).. and i wanted to see what i had paid for after weeks of waiting and Tracking and phone calls and all the other bullcrap they put us through by forcing us to order by phone because some genius at the Mint decided to take down their Web site the same day they put this series on sale.. the Director of the Mint should have been fired because of this.. instead, he issues a tepid apology, and that's it..
so, ultimately, it's your decision.. i think it's too soon to sell them, these sets anyway.. like i've been saying, there is an extremely slim chance that there is something *different* about the coins in this set.. that they aren't just the three singles shoved into a fancy case.. ultimately, it's up to the variety experts to determine that, and the Mint has said not one single word about there being any kind of special finish to them, or that they are from different dies or are pattern coins, ala the Cheerios DollErs (which are now worth a fortune).. or like the Brass Bucks in the Millineum Coin and Currency set which DO have a special finish, at least some of them do..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
Edit: What he said, except for the last part, by now I'd expect the pros would have noticed any subtle differences what with their microscopes and good eyesight, and lastly depending on the ship date/storm water damage potential I might wanna take a look see.
<< <i>i can tell ya one thing though.. DON'T take anything out of its capsule, if it's a Modern in a capsule.. let THEM take it out.. all it'd take is one oops, one fingerprint, one slip of the hands, one sneeze, and you can kiss any possibility of a 70 goodbye..
I could not agree with you more!!!!!! Sage advice for any new modern submitters out there!!!! >>
i put all my submissions in flips....after getting back come pretty marked up proofs that went out to them in capusles. their lack of QC amazes me
without putting each of the close-up pictures into a paint program and drawing circles and arrows on them, i'm seeing frost breaks and pinpoint hits on all three of them.. my opinion for whatever it's worth is that none of them would make a 70.. no matter how good a picture is, and those are excellent, it's physically impossible for me to hold each coin under a light and swivel it.. i briefly OWNED a PCGS PR70DCAM SF Old Mint $5.00 Gold which had ONE pinpoint hit on one of the building's windows.. i don't know how the grader missed it.. it was tiny but it was definitely there.. had *i* submitted it, i'm sure it would've gotten a 69.. i bought it off TeleTrade, and that hit was not visible when i looked at the coin straight on, but a very slight tilt of the slab and it jumped out at me like a Xenon headlight.. i returned it and got 100% of my money back because i had never returned anything to TeleTrade before.. they're your coins and it's your money and graders are human and have good days and bad days.. but you asked, and that's just my opinion..
not to belabor the point, but my 2007-W Jamestown Gold Unc., which got MS70 from PCGS.. like i said before, i stared that that coin for a couple of months and when i joined the club at the Long Beach show, i decided to use it for my free Gold submission.. i didn't have the Bald Eagle set ten, or, if i did, decided i didn't want to break it up.. the Jamestown looked absolutely perfect to me.. i studied it and studied it, and no matter how i tilted or swivelled it (always IN its capsule).. i couldn't detect a single flaw of any kind anywhere on it.. so i decided to give it a shot, and it got what i hoped it would get..
looking at my two 10nd Anniversary Platinums, i can see why they gave the regular Proof a 69 and the Reverse Proof a 70.. since i had to submit them in the sealed box, i only got to look at them for mere seconds at the show before the capules went into flips and the flips got the submission form rubber-banded around it and away they went..
but i was still going to submit both of them anyway.. but that box had to stay sealed to get the holy "First Strike" labels.. agonizing to say the least to have a $2000.00 investment sitting here for a couple months without being able to open it.. now Platinum has taken a huge dump over the past couple of days.. sigh.. so this isn't the time to sell..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
That said, I realize even if there are no issues, a 70 is still a long shot, so worst case scenario, I believe anyway, would be a PCGS grades PR69DCAM set with all the original packaging. This is my first time to buy something from the mint with the intention to sell it. Would you think that a 3 coin set graded by PCGS as PR69DCAM would bring a premium to just the original government packaging, or am I just really stretching here?
I finally got my return coin and I LOVE THE DESIGN. IMO, and I stress IMO, I think my dollar proof coin is a cloone of the one you posted, In fact, I would say its a DCAM.
However, I am very anxious to see how these things grade (what folks et, i dont slab normally) given the issues they had in their initial shipments. Recall that I sent back 1 coin. My half proof arrived without a hitch, BUT, the capsule was open. Sad to say, QC was NOT what it could have been with this series.
<< <i>Would you think that a 3 coin set graded by PCGS as PR69DCAM would bring a premium to just the original government packaging, or am I just really stretching here? >>
Hi..
to be honest, i haven't been watching PCGS 69s on eBay so i couldn't tell you.. since there are only 25,000 of these sets, if you plan to sell.. i think it's better to sell them in the original case, rather than sell three one-point-shy-of-perfect coins with an empty case, but what do i know?.. go check eBay and see what 69s are fetching.. if anyone has sold all three Proof 69s as a trio with the empty case and i guess that'll answer your question.. all things being equal, the way Modern Commemoratives are produced, NONE should ever grade under a 69, at least not the ones produced in recent years.. look at the population reports.. the farther back in time you go, the more 68s and 67s you start seeing.. does this mean PCGS is getting looser, or the Mint is getting better?.. i don't know.. all i do know is that a triple 70 set would hit the jackpot.. but these Baldies have problems.. a lot of them do, due to the storm damage at the Fedex facility.. were yours shipped to you before or after 05 February, 2008?.. that was the day the storms hit..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
PCGS No. CoinDate Denomination Variety Country Grade
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR70DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR70DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394419 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US MS70
394419 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US MS70
Thanks for all of the earlier information. I'm a collector, not a speculator/investor. Even a couple of years ago, I would have found the idea of keeping a US Mint purchase sealed in its original shipping container to be strange and (dare I say) stupid. Coins are meant to be enjoyed! When I received my 20th Anniversary ASE set in 2006, I immediately opened it. But then, I found out that PCGS would only grade and label them as a set if they were unsealed. No worries, since I enjoyed looking at them. But over the next year, I heard more and more about how elusive these 70 grades are (and the premium that is paid for them). So eventually, I lamented my decision to open the original packaging.
Fast forward to today, and I was actually considering keeping my three coin Bald Eagle set sealed in its packing (As much as I profess to be a pure collector, I guess that there is invariably a little bit of the speculative fever in all of us. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking about the pros and cons of opening my package
<< <i>I just got the results of my gold Bald Eagles. 4/12 isn't too bad
PCGS No. CoinDate Denomination Variety Country Grade
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR70DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR70DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394420 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US PR69DC
394419 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US MS70
394419 2008-W $5 Bald Eagle US MS70 >>
Hi..
Hmm.. from this list and what i've read here earlier, it looks like PR70s are a lot more elusive than MS70s the Golds.. you got 20% 70s on the Proofs, and 100% on the Uncs.. Hmm..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
<< <i>I opened up my three piece set last night. One thing that I would like to know: without opening the capsule, is there any way to tell whether the splotch/scratch-shaped marks that are visible are: 1) on the surface of the coin itself; or 2) on the capsule. On my gold piece, there is this splotchy shaped mark. There is another similarly, but not the exact same-shaped mark that appears to be on the surface of the capsule (hence, I can't be certain whether they are mirror images). I've tried tilting and angling the light on the area, but (as far as I can see), it's impossible to tell whether the actual scratch/splotch is on the coin or the capsule. I would really hate to open the capsule, because: 1) that would allow minute, invisible impurities to settle on the coin and 2) I am rather ham-fisted and may fumble the capsule/have some other disaster (I've seen on this thread some beautiful pictures of the Blad Eagle Coins sans their protective capsules. Some of our posters are much braver and more coordinated than this 'all thumbs' guy
buy a proof gold, take that one and put that in your 3 coin set and return the bad one. that might work.
<< <i>I opened up my three piece set last night. One thing that I would like to know: without opening the capsule, is there any way to tell whether the splotch/scratch-shaped marks that are visible are: 1) on the surface of the coin itself; or 2) on the capsule. On my gold piece, there is this splotchy shaped mark. There is another similarly, but not the exact same-shaped mark that appears to be on the surface of the capsule (hence, I can't be certain whether they are mirror images). I've tried tilting and angling the light on the area, but (as far as I can see), it's impossible to tell whether the actual scratch/splotch is on the coin or the capsule. I would really hate to open the capsule, because: 1) that would allow minute, invisible impurities to settle on the coin and 2) I am rather ham-fisted and may fumble the capsule/have some other disaster (I've seen on this thread some beautiful pictures of the Blad Eagle Coins sans their protective capsules. Some of our posters are much braver and more coordinated than this 'all thumbs' guy
Hi..
from your description, that's what it sounds like.. that a mark on the capsule is reflecting off the coin.. how about if you hold the coin between thumb and fore-finger, facing downwards, and give it a quick twist, so that it rotates a bit and re-orients itself in the capsule? the splotch, if it is on the capsule will then reflect off a different area of the coin, proving it's on the capsule, and not the coin..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
<< <i>
buy a proof gold, take that one and put that in your 3 coin set and return the bad one. that might work. >>
Coin Werld - August 12, 2008 - Variety and error expert Ken Weinberger has discovered the 2008-W $5.00 Gold Proof Bald Eagle Commemorative included in the 25,000 three-coin Proof sets, which sold out in late February, 2008, differs from the coins sold as a single-coin option by the US Mint. "This is the most exciting variety i've ever seen since the 2004 'extra leaf' Wisconsin quarters in 2004" said Weinberger. Coin Werld has obtained a sample set and compared the Gold Proof coin to one sold as a single coin option. See magnified pictures below. Weinberger believes a set of trial dies were used for coining the 25,000 Proofs that were included in the sets. "The differences are subtle, but obvious. I'd estimate these coins should bring between $5000.00 and $10,000.00 each, depending on grade." Upon release of this news, the Bald Eagle three-coin Proof set's price on eBay, jumped from the $450.00 - $500.00 range to a low of $12,500.00 for open sets, to $19,230.00 for sets still in their sealed US Mint shipping boxes. So far, one example graded PR70DCAM by independent grading service, PGCS, fetched $15,020.00 (plus buyers fees) in a recent TeleTroid auction. US Mint spokesman Michael Black had no comment after learning of Weinberger's discovery.
Copyright Wishful Thinking News Service, 2008. No rights reserved..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
$37.95 Silver Dollar Bald Eagle Unc. in MS70 goes for $228.50 on eBay........ eBay Link 2
Not too shabby.
Anyone own up to this one????
PCGS Link
I like the DOLLARS and have spoken out on how UGLY and cluttered the half designs are...well, my order of 5 proof dollars and 2 unc dollars somehow ended up with 2 HALVES instead of UNC's.
Go Figure. Why couldn't I have gotten the gold baldies mixed up instead?
Now I have to wait another month or two to get by UNC's.
BTW -- the proofs are beautiful. Most impressive design I've seen since the silver eagles came out.
<< <i>Link to a 200 coin bulk submission of Silver Dollar Baldies......................I think I counted 37 coins with 70 grade.
Anyone own up to this one????
PCGS Link >>
I think he might be a forum member
I learned everything on the CU forum really just in the last 6 months that I know about taking pictures. My setup is pretty basic, a 30 dollar copy stand, 2 clamp lights and one desk light with reveal bulbs, and a used Nikon 995 I got off ebay for about 200 dollars. For proofs, I use a cut up milk gallon jug to diffuse the lighting usually. This link HERE has a pictorial of my setup on the second page of the thread.
The templates I use are a slight variation from spacemonkeys, which can be found
HERE . I could never get them to look exactly like everyone else for some reason, so I just changed the reverse on the bottom to "hard light" instead of "overlay" to get the effect I use.
Good luck, it just takes practice! Rob
<< <i>PR 70 Baldie over 800 dollars and still plenty of time left in the auction! WOW (not mine) EBAY >>
<< <i>
<< <i>PR 70 Baldie over 800 dollars and still plenty of time left in the auction! WOW (not mine) EBAY >>
That's over the top.
I'd hold off. I just got my grades for Economy that were put in the PCGS system on 2/8/08 !!! That's 25 working days !! Concidering most Bald eagles hadn't even shipped by then I would guess there will be a bunch graded and hitting Ebay over the next few weeks.
<< <i>
<< <i>Latest Pops Update as of 3/2/08
Gold Uncs have 45% chance of an MS70
Proof Silver Dollar in PR70DC going to have a nice premium attached.
Overall, pretty low numbers in the Pops Report.
***************************************************************************************************************
Latest Pops as of Sunday March 9th
Double the gradings for the Silver Dollars.
Not much change in the Unc gold.
Small jump in the Proof gold submissions.
Key is still the Silver Dollar Proof in PR70DCAM
*****************************************************************************************************************
Latest Pops Report as of Sunday March 16th
Proof Bald Eagle Silver Dollar PR70DCAM strengthens itself as the prize in the series!!!!!!!
As rgCoinGuy pointed out....the Gold Proof $5 ain't too shabby at $800!!!!!!
gotta start saving up for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Saint reproduction they're gonna sell.. let's see.. if i get a jar and stuff $10.00 a day into it for the next year, that should be enough to buy one.. sigh..
- John Wayne, "The Shootist" (1976.. his final film)..
So, I called US Mint customer service and explained my two problems (the other being the matter of recouping my shipping costs for a defective, Silver Dollar Proof that I had to mail back). The first rep I spoke with was neither rude nor caring; she just spoke in a monotone voice and transferred me to a 'senior rep'. In making my first request to have my return shipping refunded, the lady spoke in a very polite tone 'we can absolutely do that for you'. When I explained to her the second matter of wanting to exchange my three-coin set because the gold coin was marred, she told me that by returning the set, I would likely get my money back. When I told her, 'so I should return the three-coin set with the return form completed', her tone became very annoyed,'No. That's not what I said. YOU AREN'T LISTENING TO ME. If you send back an EA7, they're going to give you your $369.95 back.... (inflection on the middle phrase)' I was so taken aback by this sudden change in demeanor that I apologized to her 'I'm sorry. I misunderstood you.'
She told me 'you need to buy a EA%' for $319.95, and then exchange it with the gold coin in your EA7. Then send back the EA% (can't remember the third digit). In all fairness, maybe I think she did tell me this the first time, and maybe I wasn't listening carefully enough
At any rate, I told her that I didn't realize that it was allowed to switch identical coins between sets. She told me that she had ordered a three-coin set and ten each of the proof non-gold coins. Her fifty cent piece had a scratch so she just switched it with one of the ten half dollars and returned that single coin.
She did process my return shipping refund. I've decided to just return my three-coin set, because I can't afford to front another $300.00 + just to exchange out my gold coins. Tough break. I was a little surprised that the mint's employees recommend swapping out coins like that. I guess it makes sense if the coins are identical. Anyone had a not so great experience with talking with US Mint customer service (read: rep getting annoyed at you, etc.)?