I have yet to figure out the best way to remove them from their boxes; mine's in there awfully tight. But it's definitely a nice, high quality, satin finish on a very large coin. At a glance, I couldn't find any blemishes, although the strike is weak on the bottoms of the letters in the denominations.
Mine was the same way so I took the whole thing out of the box and pushed from behind. Be careful as the coin could come out of the plastic capsul. Mine almost did come out. Good Luck
Got mine today, looks amazing! No major blemishes, the rim doesn't look perfect but nothing that worries me. I plan on keeping this and the others that come out in the future for my collection not to sell them. It's funny, the first 5 oz coin I ever saw was an australian lunar 5-6 years ago at my local dealer's shop. I thought it was interesting but just filed it away in the back of my mind at the time. Then last year I started to think about getting one or something of that size and then I heard about the ATB sets. Now I'm very happy to own the first U.S. coin that's five ounces!
I am no expert, so tell me if I am wrong. I received my Hot Springs P 5 oz Uncirculated coin and I was disappointed because the finish is very dull. I don't know what to call it, but the 5 oz Bullion coins have more lustre Also there is a couple of globs on it, very visible to the naked eye. Under 10X magnification, the globs s appear to be the same color as the coin, opaque, dull grey. After reading, I conclude it must be splattered from the "...ceramic media mix." used on this coin. Perhaps there should be a new grading term like DO for Dull Opaque. And perhaps there should be one like SCM for Splattered Ceramic Mix.
I think what you are describing is the matte finish. This became popular a while back with mint sets and later with the "collector" ASEs. With these coins, the bullion coins have a normal business strike appearance while these have a matte finish.
I think you may have been expecting a proof finish. These pieces will not be made this way. The Mint stated the cost of die finishing and preparation as the main reason. In fact, the coin is made the exact same way as the bullion piece, and the finish is a separate step afterward. By putting the satin finish on it, you eliminate the flaws that are more common to the highly reflective surfaces: that is hairlines, faint contact marks, rubs, milk spots, etc.... That's why your more likely to find a MS70 grade with this coin, less can go wrong with it.
SaltySam-1, From your explanation, it sounds like the Mint painted the Uncirculated coin to cover up their lack of effort. They can do better if they want to: The 5 oz set of five I received from Apmex were MS68 DMPL, MS69 DMPL, MS69 PL, MS69 PL, MS69.:smile The worst one of the set had more lustre than the Uncirculated coin.
I think it's a matter of personal taste. I prefer the look of the collector's version more than the bullion version. The latter, in my mind, has a finish that looks too much like stainless steel or aluminum foil. I think the matte/satin finish is classier-looking. Also, as Sam said, it helps to hide the flaws of the coin. I also received 68s and 69s from AMPEX, but it looks as though PCGS relaxed their standards in the grading of these coins, as you can see lines and scratches, etc. on even these higher grades under some magnification. I'm not as interested in the number grade as I am in how much I like the look of the coin, as I plan on keeping them. The bullion coins definitely have more lustre, if that is what you like. I think what we would have really liked to see the Mint do was a proof version comprised of a mirrored background with frosted images. However, we are out of luck there.
Treehugger, Since my experience and knowledge are both limited, I have no confidence in my personal taste. Nevertheless, I still object to whitewashing defects in any endeavor. Still worse, the whitewash job was sloppy and even made it worse with globs of ceramic mix!
Stephen, I agree with you on both counts: 1) this is definitely not the best coin issue the Mint has ever done and, 2) I would not like to have globs on a coin either, especially 1 that is selling at a 60% premium to spot. Are you still in the timeframe to return it or have you considered selling it?
Treehugger, I chose not to return it because of the fast sell out. If I would have returned it, they probably would not have given me another one. So I kept it, knowing that if I decide to sell it, I would make a few bucks. I told my story because I want to hear if anyone else received coinse with globs on them. Thanks!
I also like the collectors' version much more than the bullion version. I really like the way the matte finish looks. My coin is perfect as far as I can tell except for a very tiny rim ding on the reverse (the size of the point of a pin). My 5 oz. bullion coins are shinier, but they all show hairlines and one of them has a very noticeable rub mark over Washington's face on the obverse.
I got my hot springs about a week ago. It was nearly flawless. I'm hoping for a duplicate with the Yellowstone. It is cool getting such a large coin that is nearly flawless. I need to get this whole set and figure out a neat way to display them.
