I have been buying Proof AGE and ASE coins, directly from the mint, for the past 10 years to save for my kids. These are the only coins I own. I had never had the proofs graded. Yesterday I received two 20th Aniversary AGE sets and I have not opend the box they came in from the mint. I have not decided if I should keep the set/sets or sell them, now that I think they are soooo expensive! I will also be getting five 20th Aniversary ASE sets when the mint decide to ship them. My question is: should I have the sets graded or not? Please help. I have been a regular visitor of CoinTalk for the past one month. Thanks! Al
Personally,I only ordered one and would prefer to keep it in the original govt. packaging but I think if I was in your position,I'd probably send in one or two,providing you can afford it.The worst that might happen is they'll all come back PF69 ultra cameo.The only problem is,will the grading fees cancel out any premium they might bring if they don't get PF70's?
Personally I wouldn't get them graded. The odds are pretty high against them being slabbed as 70's and it would cost you close to $100 or more. So if it was me and I wanted to sell them - I'd sell them as is and put that extra $100 in my pocket.
I would first decide if you want to sell them or keep them. If you want to keep them, I wouldn't bother getting them graded as it really wouldn't do anything for your collection to have them in a slab versus the original government packaging (besides, you can easily change your mind later and get them graded anyway). Even if you decided to sell them, it's a tossup whether you should get them graded. Graded, they would fetch a bit more, but it probably would not offset the time and money spent to get them in a slab which will probably be marked PR69DCAM. I wouldn't bother, unless you have a good enough eye to tell whether you have a PR70 coin, in which case you would get a lot more money for them. If you do get them graded with the purpose of selling them, keep the original mint packaging, as auctions that include the packaging do seem to get a slight premium over the others with just the slab.
[ I wouldn't bother, unless you have a good enough eye to tell whether you have a PR70 coin, in which case you would get a lot more money for them. As of date, both PCGS and NGC are slabbing the coins with 20th Anniversary "First Strike" if you received the coins before October 24th and they are still in the original Mint Fulfillment Center shipping box unopened. The date will serve as the designate for "First Strike" as I was informed by PCGS today. The cost for grading is 30.00 each coin, $10.00 each coin for "First Strike" notation and $2.00 for them to ship back the black Lacquer Box and Certs. The total cost to slab them will be 139.00 and that includes the 17.00 for US Postal shipping back to you insured at 5K.... Is it worth it? Would like to hear your thoughts.. I have decided to keep the set, much to my dissapointment that the proof and Uncirc Coins will be minted individually. RickieB
"First Strike" is pretty much a meaningless marketing term invented by the TPG's to extract more money from collectors and speculators, and has nothing to do die states, quality of the strike, or anything like that - only the shipping date. Once people catch on, I don't expect "First Strike" anything to carry any kind of premium. With that said, if you intend to sell them in the near future, you may still get more for them this way before word gets out.
