I recently bought a sealed tube of 20 2013 Silver Eagles from the online dealer JM Bullion. If I am mainly bought it as a silver investment/hedge should I open it? With all the fakes going around the only way to verify that these coins are authentic would be to open the tube and test the coins, but since it was bought from a reputable online dealer, do you think I have to do that? What do you guys do with your sealed tubes when you get them?
Hmm.. the only official sealed SAE I'm aware of is when you buy the Green "monster" box (25 tubes of 20 coins) of them. The box has 2 straps you have to cut and remove to be able to open the box. Inside, 25 green lid US mint tubes are not individually wrapped. Regardless, I tend to like to look at the coins I purchase... count the coins, etc.
Ok, they said sealed on their website so I guess they just mean sealed as in unopened, not sealed shut. There is a piece of filament tape sealing it that JM must have put on, which is why I thought that it might have been still sealed from the mint. Anyways, in general, do you think that buying from a reputable dealer guarantees the coins are authentic, or should I open the tube up and do the various tests on the coins?
There's no harm in opening them as long as you handle them with care. It's not as though the 2013 is going to be a collectible in our lifetimes - they're minting them in sufficient quantities to ensure that. They're just bullion, and can be dipped back to original condition should they pick up some natural toning.
The monster box is the only one that if sealed officially might actually have a tube that no one has opened, especially a bullion dealer, searching for the mystical 70s that might actually worth something when TPGed.
