Will the Baseball Hall of Fame Gold coins sell out first day?

Unbelievable as it sounds, yes they did ship bags 2nd day air with signature required. I got mine yesterday.
It was funny, my 12 year old baseball playing son, who I bought a silver dollar for, was there when the box was delivered. He knows what the boxes look like that coins from the mint get shipped in and was excited to see his new baseball dollar. I told him all that was in the box was a stupid free bag but he didn't believe me. He pulled out the folded up bag and said "wow, neat case". He unfolded it and the look of disgust was priceless. He threw it down on the counter and pulled all the packing out of the box to make sure nothing was left in the box. "Dad, I was sure you were joking with me, is the mint really that stupid".

 

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It's really a miserable waste on the Mint's behalf that they are doing this. You ought to share this story as feedback to the Mint. What a way for the Mint to be building a lifetime relationship with a potentially loyal customer. I'm sorry your son had to experience this in his anticipation of the coin.

 

I don't think anythings changed. As collectors we put values on things we collect, some have more value than others. There are sentimental thing in my collection that you couldn't pay enough for and there are things that for the right price they're yours. They are just things, whether it's tulip bulbs or coins. This is as old as collecting.

 

I'm sure the mint will get an earfull on this boondoggle. Yes it was a humongous waste of money and resources. If this happened at a real business I'd bet a manager would be looking for a new job about now. I'm interested in hearing the mints explanation.

 

I think people need to accept that there is room in this hobby for everybody. I have no problem with the TPG's and their labels. They do provide a valuable service, not including the label. I personally don't buy a label, and neither should anybody else. However, that being said, there are people who see "value" in it. Why not capitalize on it? If I was able to get down to that event, I would have bought some baseball coins, have them graded, and flipped them. Nothing wrong with that either.

I also don't mind hearing when someone has great luck making money quickly on a particular issue; good for them! Sometimes it is all hype, sometimes they sell too soon! It is what it is. I feel like when someone complains about this "bragging" it's nothing more than sour grapes, or someone wishing they had that chance. Seems to be more and more the American way. The people who hate capitalism seem to be the ones who aren't successful at it.

The real complaints should be directed at the Mint, and the dishonest dealers/flippers. I think most agree that the limits should be lower on EVERY new release, at least for the first day or two. Make it 5 for gold, 25 for silver and 100 for clad. I think that allows everybody a fair chance, and keeps it consistent as far as expectations go. IMO, the Mint has an obligation to allow everybody a reasonable chance.

The thing I abhor the most are the dishonest people who sell these coins under a lie. Claims of being sold out or the misrepresentation of rarity, etc to take advantage of people should be sought out and exposed by all of us. Hype on the other hand is not dishonest. A lot of these coins trade on hype. Some win, some lose.

You have to have winners and losers or the hobby, or anything for that matter, becomes boring and insignificant.

I prefer raw in ogp. I buy coins if I like them. If I REALLY like a particular coin, I'll buy one or two extra, in the hopes that it will increase in value. I'm a collector first, and a investor/speculator second. Some people are just one or the other. Nothing wrong with that either.

I think some people fail to recognize that it STILL comes down to the coin! That is exciting to me, and it's what makes me keep coming back. Yes, one label may command more of a premium than another. However, I think everybody will agree that the Girl Scout coin, or Civil Rights coin in a special label slab WILL NOT hold the premium that the Baseball silver will in ogp over time. Heck, outside of the price of silver, the clads will probably hold a better price. All the special slabs in the world aren't going to help an overly pc ugly coin compared to an elegant, unique and even nostalgic, coin like the Baseball HOF coin!

 

Just three comments....
First, since I posted 3 different baseball coin lots on ebay, I have been contacted by at least 3 people if not more telling me that they don't collect coins but loved the design and thought they would get into the frenzy. They apparently didn't know what the coins were worth or why people were going crazy over them. Each and every person I wrote back to them explaining what was going on and to save money by waiting and either buying from the mint directly or waiting several months until the frenzy has died down before making their purchases. Each and every person had no idea what was going on and thanked me for being so "honest" with them. Had they not spoken with me they would not have know what was happening. Not trying to put myself in a good light, but I rather sell to the person who knows exactly what they are buying and why they are buying it than to someone who a few years down the road will end up kicking themselves because they just didn't know. I for one have been there, and I hated the feeling.

Second, people love blaming the mint for everything and this bag fiasco is no exception. The mint is in the business of minting coins and thats it. Selling is an afternote for them and shipping is not even on their radar. The mint contracts with third party vendors who do the shipping for them. These decisions, although may have input from the mint, are usually being made by third party vendors. I am sure the mint listens to all the complaints that come in, but all they do is pass them onto the TPVs and let them fix the problems.

The last comment is one that think is the funniest. People are still complaining about the mint and their ridiculous household limits they put on these coins. With the exception of the gold selling out so quickly, which is an anomaly if you think about it, none of the other coins have sold out yet, even with the large household limits. If everything sold out in a week and good old honest collectors could not get their hands on the coins then I would say that the household limits were absolutely too high, but that is not the case, with the exception of the gold. And really, how many of those would have purchased the gold??? I think that the mint has done a good job in the past and are setting appropriate sales limits on their coins.

 

Joe, you always have such good and thourough comments, and I appreciate very much what you do to promote the hobby and tell us what you experienced, and I do know how much you love this hobby! I just wanted to say that so that you and no one else mistakes my comments, thoughts or critical points for just being pointed at you. Your show reports helps others think about aspects of the hobby and as a seller I'm not surprised to learn you helped educate interested/potential buyers.

 

Thanks Chris. I know what you were saying and didn't take offense to it. You and I go way back and you are probably one of the few people still on CT that knows me for who I am. I can't say that I haven't become cynical over the years to where the hobby has gone. I do realize that I can't stop it, and if I can't stop it, I might as well join it and reap the rewards when I can. But I also know when to draw the line and still believe in the good that is found in the hobby. Not to toot my own horn, but if I don't do it, who will? Here are some excerpts from an ebay email exchange from a collector who didn't know any better. They do now and are grateful for it. These were their last two messages to me. Of course, what you don't see is in between the two messages...and there were more than just two....but in between both of those, I explained why these coins were going for so high. I lost out on a potential sale, but I slept awesome too. By selling coins, I am effectively becoming a dealer, and if I am dealing, I also believe that we need to do our part in educating our customers. We will only help to grow the hobby instead of suppressing it.

Dear jaceravone,

Joe thank you very much for the info. I know nothing about coins but did
purchase two of these from the mint. I'd like a pr70 and if I decide to buy
one, I'll come to you.

Thank you,
Blake

-infantry******

Dear jaceravone,Joe thanks for your honesty your a good man.

Blake

-infantry******

 

Well, I agree with just about everything you said, and I do like your approach to the hobby/business. However, disagree about the Mint. We as tax payers have a responsibility to complain/protest about these things. While they may be one of the few government entities that do make money, it does not mean they should be squandering that money like every other government agency does. The fact that I have three US Mint bags, that I didn't even order, coming to me via two-day shipping is a colossal waste of money, supplies and time. Not to mention, only lines the pockets of these third party vendors. We need to protest these inefficiencies at all levels of government. There is a reason we are in such a mess in this country, and it's due in part to people's lack of interest to really hold our government responsible for these things.

I also understand your logic about the limits; most issues never sell out in the first day. However, I feel if they set a consistent limit for ALL new issues on the first day or two it keeps things consistent, and gives the average person a chance to purchase them. It also sets expectations, and helps with the online ordering fiascos. You're right that in many cases it's not needed, but it eliminates, or at least reduces, the possible corruption behind it.

Some of my solutions might not be the best approach, but bottom line is, they CAN do a much better job, and we should demand it.

Sorry for the political rant.

 

True, massive speculation may hurt the hobby/prices realized in the future. If you collect only for the enjoyment, that may be a good thing, as you’ll be able to buy at lower prices. Knowledgeable collectors tend to have a better idea of when to buy a coin that is currently being played. Those that get burned, do so due to ignorance and their own greed, which is nothing unique to coin collecting. Of course, this assumes all promotion is accurate, not the distortions pushed by sellers like the TV hucksters.

 

With all due respect, if his post come off as bragging, IMO your post comes off as sour grapes.

 

Berneck, no apologies necessary. You are 110% correct on your rant about government waste. It is our duty to hold people accountable and correct the problems at hand. But as a long time US Mint consumer, I have to just sit back and laugh. At least once a year, if not more stuff like this continues to happen and you say to yourself, "WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY THINKING"?????? Remember, its not the mint shipping this, its a TPV. So its up to them to meet the budget. I would imagine that the mint pays X amount of dollars to them for their service based on volume. If they exceed this cost they eat it. If they don't, then they may get a bonus. Either way, they just don't get it. These are mindless drones working on a government contract. All they know is that as stuff comes in, it has to go out.

Here is another wasteful example that just left me scratching my head. I placed an order from an outdoor supply company company. I ordered 10 items for a total cost of about $40. Shipping was a flat $10. Aside from the first two items which added up to about 90% of my bill, each item was sent out separately. The last 4 items each were anywhere from $2.50 to $3.5o in cost. They spent triple that in postage. Where's that scratching head emoticon when you need it?

 

After further thinking about US Mint bag issue and my other example above.... maybe this is what they call good customer service. Have we become so jaded in our reviews of the mint and their TPV's that we now downplay good customer service for wasteful spending? Is there a fine line between the two?

I like these bags. I use these bags on a frequent basis. I got mad when I gave one to a buddy and he didn't give it back. So the fact that I am getting my bag earlier than expected may be a good thing.

 

Hey! April Fools day is over, Joe.

 

Nah, I'm not buying that. We were led to believe the mint was going to give its "valued customers" a great bonus and were given a joke.

 

+1

 

Haha yeah, i guess there's always another way of looking at things. I do like your positive attitude!

 

If they haven't already sold out, I think the silver dollars will be history by midnight. There is a mad rush to get the last of these....bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, buyers have a 0-2 pitch on the way.......SSSSSTTTTTTTTRIKE 3....We're out........of silver dollars !!!!

JMO as always.

 

+1

I agree that these will be sold out very soon, perhaps by Tuesday's sales report. Future demand may be greater for the silver than the gold. TC

 

I think that all the collectors that wanted them have gotten them. Now we are seeing the "other" folks who are seeing the secondary market prices and are buying up everything they see without actually knowing the whole story....or even part of the story on why the first wave of coins are going for the premiums that they are. They will be surely disappointed.