I recently purchased this item pictured. It is a "proof" set of Irish coins of 1971. I of course returned it, and paid postage to return it. I accepted an exchange, amazed that the coin graders at that company would sell such a terrible thing. Well, the second set had the 6 so-called "proof" coins each full of hairlines!! I sent the second one back asking for a refund, and I again paid shipping. I will not mention the company's name, other than it is an outfit located in Littleton, New Hampshire. Has anyone else experienced such terrible grading from a company in New Hampshire??
the set is Proof, Proof is how the coins are made, not their current condition. A Proof coin is struck with specially prepared dies on polished planchets and are struck more than once to make sure the image is crisp. What may happen after that will not change the fact that the coins are Proof.
You are aware that "Proof" is a minting process and not a grade, right? IIRC, this set was packaged in vinyl. According to the dealer, they sat around in a bank vault, forgotten, for about 40 years. As romantic a story as it is, that's not exactly a recipe for keeping coins pristine. One of the advantages of dealing with Littleton is that their return policy is excellent. On an item like this one, you have 45 days from purchase to return it. I suggest you do so and see if you can at least get a photo of the actual item before you try buying something like this again.
It seems to me that you need to learn more about numismatics and various coin companies (in general). Stick around and ask more questions before you start pulling the trigger. In any case, it may save you on shipping, and there are lots of people willing to help. Chris
Thanks for the advice. I am aware that "proof" is a mint style, however, I went through 2 sets with this company, and both showed evidence of harsh post minting treatment. The second set was full of hairlines. I am aware that they claimed that the coins were recently "found" in the Central Bank of Ireland vault in Ireland. The mint in Ireland did not strike coins with hairlines. Littleton cleaned them, and ruined their "Proof" quality. The first set, pictured, had many scratches. Instead of Proof, they appeared MS 60. Littleton stated that the coins were "carefully repackaged in an archival safe coin page". The images of their original sales ad show beautiful coins, they also stated that "the quality is superb", which is a sort of grading a judgment!! the ones they shipped were an insult. Hence I sent them back. You do not need to be an expert in numismatics to purchase something which by all appearances seemed genuine. Fortunately Littleton has a good return policy. I have dealt with Littleton for over a decade, usually I am happy with their products. I have returned items before. CPM9Ball, Chris speaks in the dark. How long have you dealt with this company? You ought to ask before making judgments! It is a common accident to be sold an item which needs returning. That is part of the overall coin shopping experience. One needs to accept that.
One more item: Littleton referred to this set as a "special collector versions" before Littleton manhandled them. "Proof" means a specially struck coin, (usually multiple strikes) with specially polished dies. I suspect that most coin specialists recognize the grading of proofs. Thus you will find "proof 63" or PF 65, these are grades. I hope ziggy9, now knows more about "proof" grades. You can also visit PCGS or NGC sites and learn more about proof grades and grading.
You are welcome to buy this "proof" set. Though I doubt that you would after seeing the beautifully minted, then abused "proofs". Nowhere did I state that they were not proofs, you made a faulty conclusion if you thought that I said they were NOT proofs. They were proofs. They may have BEEN proofs, but their proof grades are now very very low, yes??
My first experience with Littleton dates back to the 70's, but it didn't take me 10 years to learn to avoid them. Yes, they do have a good reputation for accepting returns, but what good does that do when you end up spending extra for shipping? Perhaps if we had a "Thin-Skinned" forum, here, we could have reworded our responses so as not to offend you. It is what it is! Chris
Your use of quote marks around the word proof in the OP insinuated that you did not believe them to be proof. If your complaint was about the fact that the coins were damaged rather than than type of coin perhaps you could have been a little clearer....
You will find Littleton is an outfit to stay away from as I found out way back in the 70's I'm 66 now and would go elseware to buy....
The grade can go down i.e. PF65 down to PF60 or it can become a proof details coin, but nothing you do to a proof strike coin can turn it into a business strike coin.
Okay okay okay. Sometimes my nerves get frayed and I take it out late at night on y'all. But you are good sports. I usually buy JUST supplies from this coin company. I did and do like some of their mint sets, though the prices are high, most are well pre-sorted. I like Irish coins! And the ad pictures for this lousy "superb proof set" looked so good, so I "pulled the trigger" as you say. They did not inform me that they had covered the coins with hairlines after removing them from a vault. Yeah yeah, I'll try to throw away all the mailings I get from them. Some of you may not know it, but I began collecting coins about 60 years ago. Wow, 60 years!! I began in 1955 when my dad brought home some rolls of pennies. We would sit on the bed and go through them. I still have that old album!!For those of you who may be younger, I still feel and often think like a kid, in an old man's body. Amazing. Again, Thank you all for your patience, I will try to be more civil.
