I have attempted to search, haven't found much on this topic, but feel it is an important enough subject to bring up. To my knowledge, as far as having a coin slabbed with a first or early "xxxxx" (replace the x's with your favorite word i.e. strike, release, date of issue, etc.), a coin has to be submitted to a grading company within a certain amount of time, OR in some cases if the shipment still has the original US Mint packing box/tape/labels, the ship date by the Mint can be proven and slab marked accordingly. Ok, here is the risk issue: What happens when this Mint sealed box contains defective, wrong, or incorrect numbers of product? I have had two experiences where I have bought sealed boxes - one good and one not so good. I will concentrate on the not so good experience: About a couple of months after the 8-8-08 Double Prosperity gold sets were no longer sold, I saw their numbers decrease as far as online auctions, and wanted to buy another one or two before they were out of reach, price-wise. I found one and bought it for a couple hundred dollars over the last price the mint charged, and it was new in the Mint-sealed shipping box. Cool, or so I thought. The seller had 3 of them, the one I bought and two others. I paid and waited for mine to show up. When the box did show up, I decided that slabs weren't important to me, so I opened the original Mint shipping box. :hatch: Much to my disappointment, I found that there was a 8-8-08 Double Prosperity set, the coins were fine, but that nice red hardwood box that they are housed in had a significant problem. What I thought was red paint and a mint emblem actually turned out to be a plastic coating, and this plastic coating had de-laminated from the wood top of the box and cracked into pieces. The box top wood was warped. I will attempt to attach photos of it to this thread. I contacted the seller. He was in disbelief. I emailed photos, and because he had two additional sets he hadn't open nor sold yet, he decided to open one of the other sets he had and found the same problems. Clearly, the environment that these products were stored in can and did play a part in how the materials responded. In this case, it appeared as if the cardboard box was exposed to too much heat and probably humidity over time. What if what was inside the cardboard box was not the double prosperity set? That leaves me with the question to those who buy Mint sealed, shipped boxes containing coins and forward them to grading companies. What happens if the grading company opens the box and the product ordered and specified is not what is in the box? Who is liable for errors, and who is responsible for ensuring that something is kept in a cool and dry place? All I can answer with is to share what I decided do, and ask if anyone else has any similar ideas or experiences on how someone can prevent problems or losses such as this. My answer: I don't buy a Mint sealed box from a private party with the intention of sending it away for grading without looking at the contents when it first arrives. I recently bought 10 coins that were in a still-sealed US Mint cardboard box. They were not struck during the first month or two of production. I found the order number and checked it. They are expensive, so I wanted to protect myself. I set up a camcorder and pressed record. First I recorded all sides of the box to show that the registered mail paper tape was intact. I then recorded the steps of the opening the box, and show the removal of the product from the box. After I am sure that everything is as expected, I will erase the videotape, as it is no longer needed. If there would have been a problem, at least there is a record of what all took place from prior to the box being opened through the time I inspected it. I am wondering if anyone else has had issues, or knows ways to prevent problems... R ####]----> Sidenotes: There were many people who did have their sets grated at the time, so finding a replacement wood box was reasonable as far as cost. The seller picked up most of the cost of the replacement box, and I was a happy camper. I saw one seller on a popular auction site that actually has a photo of his unopened box that has been through an x-ray machine to verify content. I think it does an adequate job of showing how many coins are in the box, but I don't think that an x-ray will show what the obverse and reverse of the contents inside look like.
MPC, Sorry if my photos are not to scale... There are two: The 1/2 oz 2008-W Gold Buffalo (UNC) and The 1/2 oz 2008-W Gold Eagle (UNC) The press release for the set is at: http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?flash=yes&action=press_release&id=938 At the bottom of that press release, there is a link to a prototype image.
rocket: A very thoughtful post. I have often worried about the same thing for the people who buy mint coins and do not open the boxes. There are many issues of storage, quality of materials and materials breaking down, leaching acidic properties from their materials, gassing off as chemical change or react to their environment. These are great things to consider, why not to leave them wrapped in cardboard or improperly stored in hot or cold areas and not to buy a coin issue for the marketed packing. The coins are the important part and hopefully remain unharmed despite the issue you brought to light.
I once bought 3 Puerto Rico rolls in sealed mint boxes on Fee-Bay. The price was too low compared to all the other auctions but I took a chance anyway. When the rolls arrived, something told me to open at least one box. I opened it and found that the quarters were PR quarters but the mint paper on one roll was torn and ripped off the quarter stack. This was a 'no returns' auction so I contacted the seller and worked something out. He was willing to work with me fortunately.
I open everything I buy from the US Mint to ensure quality and also to check for errors. You story is a good example. I know it may be worth more left unopened but I like to actually see what I buy. I am in it for collecting not investing. TC
I guess it depends on the individual and the circumstances. I still have unopened shipping boxes of AK & HI SQ's and unopened (Mint) boxes of 2006 RTM 5c bags. I don't really see the need to open them to check the quality, and I already have the same coins that have been opened from other Mint orders. Of course, if it is a specialty item of limited offering like a commem or a gold set, I would open them immediately to check for quality, damage, etc. In the Scotsman auction last February, there were 4 separate lots of unopened proof sets still in the shipping boxes with the Philadelphia postmarks dated July 29, 1952, September 11, 1953, August 25, 1954 and September 1, 1954. I would have given anything to be able to win one of those lots, but they went way beyong what I could afford. Chris
Sorry to revive an old thread - warped box -- Sorry to revive an old thread -- Hello, I am very new to this field of coins & I came across this thread last night. I have a 8/8/08 set that I received as a gift in 2009. I never opened the box until yesterday. I found that the box I have is warped as in that the lid will not close. I cannot tell if this happened due to storage conditions or the box was simply defective. I also have some of the same issue where the paint/stain is peeled off. So to revive such an old issue, how would you all handle a situation where you had these problems upon first opening a box from the mint. Also, as the gold is not affected, how will this diminish the value? http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/user311/d20ad825.jpg http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/user311/1be9ec6d.jpg
The same goes for OBW rolls. Who knows how they have been stored. I've opened a ton of them to find corroded coins inside from improper storage.
You might try finding a replacement box on ebay. I doubt the mint will help. As far as value it will depend on the buyer. Some will not care and others will care quite a bit. I think there are enough of both that you will be okay. Welcome to CT
From time to time you might find someone who will sell the box, or worse comes to worse, buy another set and just sell the coins from it and keep the box. The other option is to have the coins slabbed and toss the box. One thing is for sure, the boxes were not meant to withstand a whole lot of heat and humidity!
Thanks. Yes it was most likely my fault for I had no idea what was in that box so I just had it in my dresser.
If it was bought from the mint and kept in your dresser and wasn't subject to heat and humidity, I am surprised. If you bought it on the 2nd hand market, that is another story. The one I bought was from Arizona, and I assume was kept in a non air-conditioned (aka HOT) environment!
