2011 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set

In 2007, NGC and PCGS were both sued for deceptive use of the term "First Strike" (http://coins.about.com/b/2007/08/28/ngc-settles-first-strikes-lawsuit.htm). NGC paid a large settlement to the plaintiffs and stopped using the term replacing it with the idiotic "Early Releases". Can anyone explain why PCGS has been able to continue the practice?

 

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Nobody sued them?

 

the cynical answer is follow the money.....that's all I got

 

I've long since admired your Occam's Razor approach to things, but this made me literally LOL

 

In fact, they WERE sued at the same time. (see http://coins.about.com/b/2006/11/27...s-filed-over-the-first-strike-designation.htm) However, they reached a confidential settlement and apparently, no one has challenged them about it since then.

 

Ah, money.........silences many.

 

Yes it does. Evidently they didn't get hit them for enough money though. Considering all the money they make with this scam, the punishment should be much more. This set is a great example.

 

Whether or not it will be worth spending $450 to have First Strike labels put on five sets of coins by PCGS will ultimately depend in large part on how many MS/PR70FS sets can be assembled from graded coins and the market demand for such sets. If, as I suspect, the bullion coin will be the key to assembling such sets, getting just one coin labeled as MS70FS could by itself pay for having all 25 coins labeled and much more. So far this year, over half of the MS-W and PR-W SAEs submitted for grading have come back as 70s and the MS-S should do just as good. I think the PR-P (reverse) will see a slightly lower performance but that the bullion coin is likely to come back with the lowest percentage of 70 graded coins. That will make that coin the key to assembling "perfect" sets no matter how else they are labeled. The $18 per coin up front cost of First Strike labeled coins makes them much rarer (totally artificially but still quite factually). Since NGC will label all coins submitted before the cutoff date as Early Release, the percentage of so labeled coins will depend on how many are sent in before that date. PCGS technically has no cutoff date. As long as the coins remain sealed in the dated mint shipping container, they can receive FS labels at any time. NGC allows dealers to send large amounts of coins for safe keeping but to delay grading (and receiving ER labels) for up to one year after going on sale. PCGS has set the postmark date at November 27, by which time most if not all sets should have shipped. Depending on how NGC handles the upcoming holiday, the coins may have to reach them no later than two weeks from today to qualify for ER labels.

 

I'm requesting two special designations, that are much rarer than Early Releases:



A coin has only a 1 in 5 chance of being shipped on Tuesday and only about 5% of coins will be packed by Steve.

 

Found a YouTube video of the 25th set: http://youtu.be/gyhiYZ-bp8U

Thought I'd share in a few places since there are now officially 100 threads on this set.. HAHAHAHA

 

Seems like he's the only one doing it. Already at $310 for the RP and $290 for the S with 10 hours to go, and the partial set is at $143. So he's at $740 total. The RP and S will likely hit $400-$450 each IMO, the partial shouldn't go too much higher, as the only "special" items are the proof and the mint box.

 

I think it's an ignominious fate for these beautiful sets (being cannibalized/dismembered), but I guess it's all about the money in the end.

 

If its not a good investment there sure are lots of people getting them labeled FS including me.....

I've always done LOTS better with FS than non FS....just a fact, not an opinion.

The best $18 I ever spent......................:thumb:

 

100% of these coins qualify for "First Strike".

 

The big money to be made in this set is to have it graded MS70/PF70 First Strike or Early Releases, especially the two unique coins. IMO, the current eBay sales are speculators buying up the sets at a premium to submit them to TPGs. Collectorswill eventually enter the secondary market and determine the true value of these coins. TC

 

I got an e-mail from the mint this morning informing me that I will not recieve the set. I was on the waiting list and my order was placed at 6:47 CT. Oh well, time to buy something else.

 

On the vehicle for delivery today. :hail: :thumb: TC

 

Quick question Dreamer. Do think that the "Packed by Larry", "Shipped on Thursday" coins will ever be in demand?

 

I have two sets out for delivery and my 1:03 order (38335XXX) just got marked as shipped (11/10/2011) and it will go out tonight for delivery tomorrow (it looks like they are working early today). It looks like my 1:26 order (38339XXX) might make it out today as well.

It is possible that there may be a small number of sets that don't qualify for first strike. If the last of the waiting list orders don't get shipped before TDay they will miss the November 27 cutoff. If that happens, PCGS won't allow FS labels on opened 2011-P and 2011-S SAEs. Lots of sets sent to NGC will probably miss out on ER labels because they have to be received by NGC by the cutoff date.

As a numismatist, I put virtually no importance on the FS and ER labels because all they do is relate a minor difference as to when the coins left the mint, something that I place little if any weight on. As for bullion coins labeled as 2011-(W) or 2011-(S), I do put a small weight on the provenance of which facility minted the coins. While they are individually virtually identical and you cannot tell where they came from by looking at them, this kind of location provenance (like that of a coin that belonged to a famous collection) has far more meaning than provenance that relates a ship date or a submission date.

As a business man, I am interested in return on investment and since there are people who will pay a bigger premium than the label costs, I think it could be money well spent. Of course, there is a risk/reward equation that has to be evaluated and if all of the FS coins come back as 69s, the rewards might not materialize. Since over half of the W mint mark SAEs graded so far this year have been 70s, the odds of getting MS70FS on 2011-S coins is very good, and since the 2011-(S) coins were minted in SF specifically for inclusion in these sets, the chances of getting MS70FS on those coins should be elevated as well. There are no guarantees and this is a business decision, not a numismatic one so paying for the label because I hope to sell that label at a profit feels like a good move.

 

It sounds like our orders were placed at the same time, and mine has now been shipped too. Yesterday I was trying to see what everybody's order number was, etc., so I could figure out when mine might ship. Hopefully these will help somebody else try and estimate when theirs will be coming. Important stuff edited. Good luck all.

Chuck

Order number: 3833XXXX
Order Date: 10/27/2011 at 01:02 PM CST
Order Status: Your order request has been shipped.
Billed to: Me
Shipped to: Me @ my office
Shipping Method:
Tracking Number(s): 1ZE1988X24XXXXXXXX
25TH ANNIVERSARY AE 5 COIN SILVER SET Mine shipped on 11/10/2011

My times are Central. That may also be important to some.