In the past, I have avoided most modern mint products. I tend to find the older coins more interesting...but in recent years some of the modern stuff has began to interest me more. I decided that it was time to pick up my first modern gold commemorative. Although I did typically avoid most of the modern products, as a kid one commemorative caught my eye when it first came out. Of course, at the time I was just starting high school and didn't have the money to buy anything made of gold. So, it became one of those coins I "wanted but couldn't afford." Recently, I decided it was time to change that...so I bought one. The coin I bought was the 1999-W George Washington $5 Gold Proof. I choose the proof because I like the proof finish better than the BU finish, but I suspect in time I will have one of each. I will admit that I was a little disappointed in the coin when it arrived. There is very minor spotting in the fields around the motto (the spotting is much more evident in the photos than it is in hand). I purchased the coin online from someone who had several for sale and of course...the photo of the coin shown had no spotting. That said, in hand it's not a huge issue and I'm happy with the coin...but had I seen it in hand before I would have passed on this example.
Nice pick up Richie. That's still one that I need. As for the spotting.......you say it doesn't bother you all that much, but in time it might. I've bought stuff (commems) that I was satisfied with initially, but bothered me later on. You can always level up (eye appeal) in the future if the coin starts to bother you. I've done it. That's not to say that yours' ain't handsome. It's a lovely piece.
That's what I was thinking too. Based on what I have seen, the value on these tend to be tied pretty close to spot...so if I decide to upgrade I can sell this one and probably come out pretty close to the same on price.
That's definitely one thing modern gold has going for it. It's very hard to lose relative to the price of the metal itself. I think when I get ready to go for the (modern) gold, my first will probably be this one:
If the spots do bother you, you could contact the seller, since he/she has multiples, and see if you can do a trade to a non-spotted one. You could offer to pay for shipping. Good luck!
