2013 West Point ASE set

Nobody cares about First Strike. But for some reason a 2012-W SAE sells for up to $100 more if it has a First Strike label. Go figure!

What good is keeping coins in a sealed shipping box without opening them? The poster is interested in doing this as an investment. The chance for a large return is significantly diminished if the coins are not First Strike eligible.

Without First Strike, the buyer would just be gambling that the coins inside are really good and pay less than those already graded PR70. So for maximum return on investment, he/she would open the box and return anything that isn't perfect to the Mint.

 

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WOW! Quite a bump today at 243,226.

 

Anyone read the mint’s description of the uncirculated coin (on the order page under “Program”)? Isn’t it wrong?

 

I have to agree...the "First Strike" designation suggests these coins are somehow superior to other coins due to die wear...but that's ridiculous. Dies are only used for about 1,000 strikes before they're replaced. The "First Strike" designation is given to any coin minted in the first month of production.

I could be wrong, but that's how I understand it.

 

See Post #227...I thought it was "wrong" until I realized that the "lightly" and "heavily" frosted areas would be lighter in color and the "uncirculated" finish would be darker.

Will the contrast be as dramatic as the coin depicted in the US Mint's pictures? ...I doubt it.

 

Yeah, that’s why you just can’t respect the TPG’ers for that one. Although it makes for profit, it’s not an honest profit, as it’s at the expense of the unknowledgeable collector who believes it means a better coin. It’s analogous to stating/implying the grade is better than it is.

 

And there is absolutely no way to distinguish a coin with the so called 'first strike' label from a coin struck later in the production run. In fact, the mint states that they don't know which coins are struck first in a production run. They don't segregate them the rest of the 'coin population' when they ship them out to us. They are more than likely minting these coins right now and lumping them all together in some storage area awaiting the end of the ordering window of oportunity..........

 

Go to the mint’s page and read the description. It talks about only 2 finishes. I understood there are 3 finishes, 1 a proof–like finish.

 

Except for the ones that go to their big purchasers – they get the first coins from the die.

 

It's supposed to be 'first in, first out' but I hear ya...........

 

It talks about 3 finishes. The uncirculated finish, a heavy frosted finish, and then (in the next paragraph) a light frosted finish.

 

Post #227 quotes the description...from the Mint's web page.

 

Hmm, my mistake, but strange way to continue describing the coin in the 3rd paragraph, when they talk about the remaining elements in the 2nd paragraph. Anyway, hope the finishes do contrast like the photo, otherwise, isn’t that “misleading”. Guess it’s just one more issue with the mint, as in when they offer one or more of these coins in another set.

 

So...if the "First Strike" designation is given to any coin shipped during the first month of production, and there are...idk, 200,000 coins shipped in the first month...do you think they were all minted from the same die?

 

Yeah, hopefully that was a joke, but it’s not impossible.

 

I think he meant first orders in get filled first, from who knows what coins.

 

I, like you, get annoyed when TPGs use "First Strike" or "Early Release" designations to imply superior strike quality when the designations are meaningless.

 

I was referring to the way the ordering should be handled, not the strike, but now that you mention it, this would be a great way to distinguish first strike coins from the end of the production run......:devil:

 

Yeah, it's borderline criminal. If I had deeper pockets and was an unknowledgeable collector who lost big down the road because I relied on “First Strike” as meaningful, I’d seek legal remedies.

I'm not so sure it's only implied, as they've take a numismatic term with a known meaning and misrepresented the meaning. It’s like saying VF35 (a known term) means something else.

 

Good luck with that, even in the unlikely event you won the case I'd wager your legal fees would far outweigh any provable damages.