Phil, Shhh! Don't be giving the geniuses at the Mint any ideas or they'll decide it's a good idea to raise the price on these puppies.
I usually don't have a preference for PCGS or NGC regarding grading, but I have to say I like the PCGS "puck" slabs a lot better, primarily because the NGC slabs are so ridiculously large it becomes an issue if you have limited storage space for your valuables.
Hey TH, have you gotten HI in bullion yet? I'll bet it gives Mt Hood a run for "best design in bullion finish."
Clint, No, I haven't snagged any of the 2012 coins yet. I like the Acadia and the Volcanoes, then El Yunque and finally Chaco. I think you may be right about Volcanoes. I'll have to get to a coin show to see 1 in person. Do you have any of this year's yet? As Phil said earlier, the vaporized coins are looking like a good deal relative to the bullion at the current silver price.
I'm waiting for Denali which I will get in VP. Like yourself, if I see a HI in bullion and like it, I'll buy it. None of the other designs has grabbed me, yet.
I bought the Grand Canyon and Chickasaw, liked the look. Might get the Hawaii thats coming out on the 24th if they don't jack the price up. Can always sell them when silver spikes again. .
I'm with you guys. I picked up the bullion Chickasaw soon after it was released. I really like the design. It's very appealing visually.
I have to disagree with you fellas. IMHO I just don't really care for these ATB's. I think taking a design meant for a Quarter and stretching it out to the size of these pucks is a mistake. They should have made a design specifically for a large 5oz coin. I'm sure it could have been breathtaking. Right now its kind of like watching a Standard Definition TV show on a 50 inch HD Plasma. blech. I do think that the P version could potentially have some upside down the line since the mintages are so low. However it is kind of confusing to have bullion versions and collector versions of the same thing. I'll still pick a few up just to stack some silver but I'm over it honestly.
O.K. does this help? Imagine the design was made for the pucks, and it's too small for quarters. Then, look closely at the bridge on Chickasaw and compare it to the classic commem 1937 Antietam. Isn't that cool? Do you enjoy landscapes? Landscapes are better when they are bigger. Now you can dislike particular designs, but to dismiss the whole series? I don't like Gettysburg, because I don't like the orientation of the monument making the soldier appear to toss his rifle instead of clubbing someone (like the real thing). Why not let us know which design you DO like in the series? I'm not a big fan of ALL of them, nor of the classic commems, however there are several in each which I love: Grant, Texas, Stone Mtn, Oregan Trail...and then Mt Hood, Olympic, Chickasaw.
I'm with Clint on this. I think the designs look much better on the "pucks" than they do on the quarters. Of the 15 that will have been released by the end of this year, I really only like 8 well enough to consider owning them, but I think they look better as pucks than quarters. A proof puck (mirrored fields and frosted devices) would be the ideal coin, but I don't think we will see that from our Mint.
Here is a comparison picture of the NGC and PCGS Pucks. I really have no idea what NGC was thinking here. Just another example of why PCGS is far superior (in my opinion).