In terms of quality and gradability, are coins in Mint rolls (2011) substantially different from those in the uncirculated and circulating coin sets? I'm pondering buying some coins to have graded. The Mint rolls are a lot cheaper per coin than the sets. But the packaging of the sets looks like they would protect the coins better. Do they try to pick the best coins when they fill the sets?
When they were first released, I pulled some very respectable coins out of the 2011 US Mint Sets but subsequent attempts were fruitless. This was a mint set coin: Although I have not purchased any US Mint rolls for 2011, my experiences in past years have also been fruitless. I guess what I am saying is that its really the "Luck of the Draw" in that it's possible to score really big and at the same time, possible to get a bunch of dog coins. I'd like to point you in one direction or the other but just cannot. The US Mint Set intended coins DO get special handling during their production cycle but unfortunately, the Mint Set Packaging process has a tendency to wipe out that "special handling" with scrapes, grinds and gouges. Finding coins which are "gradeable" can be a challenging experience and from what I've seen, there is no real guarantee when purchasing US Mint products as most dealers that do undertake this challenge, usually buy hundreds of mint sets and submit coins in bulk to let the graders sort them out. Good Luck on whatever you decide.
Yes, they are. Coins in mint rolls come from regular production coins. Coins in Mint Sets come from specially produced batches of coins. Of course that depends on what year you are talking about. I can't recall the exact year that it changed, I think it was the early or mid '90s - but Mint Set coins after that were specially produced and struck with higher pressures than regular business strikes. Then starting in '05 the Mint Set coins had a satin finish. The satin finish ended - this year I think. Mint Set coins before the change in the '90s came from regular business strikes.
19Lyds, what does the term 'Position B' refer to on your PCGS slab? I don't remember seeing that before.
It has to do with the edge lettering - letters up, or down, with the obv. It's stupid really, because it is purely random chance that determines it.
Not really. What was "stupid" were the folks on eBay that were paying outrageous prices for Presidential Dollar Errors with "upside down" lettering. It was so rampant that eBay eventually deleted every auction that used the term "upside down lettering". The net result was that PCGS recognized the fact that the lettering could literally be in either orientation and created specific definitions to identify that orientation. With the edge lettering read normally, if the Statue of Liberty is facing up, its Position A, if the President is facing up, its Position B. http://www.pcgs.com/Articles/Detail/4946
My point is why bother identifying it to begin with when it is random chance that determines it ? That's what I find stupid.
The best coins have pretty much consistently gone into mint sets since 1965 when the proof presses were shipped to San Francisco and mint set coins were struck on them. Mint set coins are struck at lower speeds with more pressure by new dies. Of course this mostly only assures that coins are high quality when they come off the dies and doesn't assure that they aren't scratched up. It also doesn't preclude the possibility that regular issue coins might not have been even better. As a rule of thumb it doesn't matter if regular issue post-'64 coins were better than mint set coins or not because almost no regular issue coins were saved and all that exist in pristine condition came from mint sets. Also keep in mind that strike characteristics aren't very important to some collectors and virtually all of some coins in mint sets can have marking. In such a case some people will prefer regular issue if they can find them. In almost every single case for coins made since 1965 the finest coins will come from mint sets. This is a little less true for Ikes and a few specific dates of other coins. Generally superb gems are simply impossible from rolls and finding them in mint sets is like shooting fish in a barrel. I heartell that quality of the '11 mint sets is dismal. It's still a safe bet the finest few hundred of each coin were all put in mint sets though even if they are tough.
I guess everyone has their own preference. Since 2004, I've had more than 50 business strikes that have graded MS68, and they all came from bags. For example, I purchased a $250 bag of 2007-P Sacagaweas from the Mint for $310. I submitted 54 coins and 14 came back MS68. (I still think about a dozen of the 67's should have been 68's.) I sold 5 of them immediately for $150 each, and traded a few more for other certified coins of equal value. I still have 5 MS68's left! My net profit just from the sale/trade of the MS68's after all expenses is about $650. I still have 20 MS67's left out of 34, and you can add another $280 to the profit. The problem I have with the Mint Sets is that I don't want to mess with Linc's or Jeff's or Roosies. What would the cost be to buy 250 of those sets when the only two coins I care about are the Sac and the Kennedy? I still have 7 - 2005 CA SQ (6 P & 1 D) and one 2001-D Kennedy left from previous submissions. All are MS68 business strikes. All came from bags, and I more than made up for the expenses by selling off the other MS68's. Chris
Mint sets aren't necessarily feasible economically. And of course all you're really getting with a mint set is a very well made coin and not necessarily one that is high grade. In the last ten years there has been a lot of pressure on the mint to make nice quality coins. Before the states quarters no one collected from circulation and people didn't notice what junk was being placed into circulation. Also the lower relief has led to some improvements in strike since around 1994. All added together and with the greatly increased number of people searching rolls and change for gems it has led to many more nice coins coming from circulation and relatively fewer from mint sets. But it's still a safe bet that the finest coins are in the mint sets even if it's no longer economical to seek them out. These cost a lot of money now days.
Because it introduces "differences" Doug. Additionally, the different orientations of the lettering has a different effect on the quality of the coin and lettering. In some years, weak and partial edge lettering is MUCH more prominent on one orientation of lettering than it is on the other. And before you get on the "edge lettering variety" bandwagon, some folks do collect specific edge lettering variances.
Its random chance an error gets through the mint...still a highly valued collectible in many cases....not my collection preference, but many love to find these random errors.
