Does anyone have the 2013 United States Mint Limited Edition Silver Proof Set? If so, how secure are the coins? I ask because I have the 2012 set and the coins are not very secure at all. The mint did a poor job with it.
It doesn't start shipping until 2/21. I have one on backorder. Supposedly "this product’s packaging was improved for 2013 to better secure the coins in the set and protect the lenses." I missed out on the 2012, so if you want to unload yours let me know.
So what's so special about this set? Looks like the coins that would normally come in the silver proof set for the year. Or am I missing something?
I guess you are paying a little more for packaging essentially, and if you are trying to get PM or one of those proof coins in particular the LE set probably isn’t for you. But when I think about it I realize that I’m often paying for packaging anyway and I don’t really have a problem with that. When I buy normal ASEs I’m paying a premium over the value of the metal because it’s packaged in a U.S. government made coin instead of a random bar, round, or whatever. When I buy a proof I’m paying an even larger premium because of how it is made and its resulting appearance. When I’m buying a set from the mint the fact that it is all in one pretty mint stamped package is part of what I’m paying for, and the coins assembled from other sets without the packaging just isn’t the same. I think a lot of people think the same way. I’m seeing the 2012 sets for sale on-line now for $200 - $300 and I can’t find one locally at all, so at least right now the cost for it last year was worth it. Time will tell I guess, but it seems pretty common that things are worth more in their packaging than without: think action figures and the like. All of that said, if anyone thinks they can talk the mint into dropping the price a few bucks I'll gladly sign the petition.
The regular silver proof set is also selling for $150-$160 range. The low mintage with the unexpected cut-off date by the mint last year caused the prices to surge.
A worthless rip-off, the biggest scam I've ever seen that's still technically legal. There's absolutely nothing you can get in that set you couldn't get by buying a silver proof set and a proof ASE. Honestly, I don't know why anyone buys these.
To answer the OP's question and since I did buy a set "just to see how they were packaged", I'm of the opinion that the coins themselves are secure however, the plastic slip which holds the coins, is cut a bit smaller than the plastic lens which it fits into and, as such, allows that slip to move about.
If packaging isn't worth anything, why do we pay more for food items when the generic brand is sitting beside it for USD$0.30 less. Despite the fact that it is coming from the same supplier, we don't buy it because we like packaging.
