Is it worthwhile to slab modern commemoratives and American Silver Eagles? What is the average grade of proof and uncirculated coins coming directly from the mint these days? Most of the slabbed commems and ASEs I see are either MS69/70 or PF69/70.
To a large degree the reason most of those coins that you see are graded that is because they are pre-screened by the submitters before they are sent in for grading. With those that are sent in the submitter is hoping for the 70 grade but most come back as 69's. Personally, if you want slabbed examples then I would suggest buying slabbed examples. It's much cheaper than paying for the grading yourself.
I agree. At the same time there are a few dates that might be worth the gamble if you feel good about your ability to grade them. Without grabbing a price guide the 1995 and 96 Comm's are my first thought.
The average grade is a 69 with maybe 20% grading higher or lower. The reason you only see most of these coins in 69 or 70 slabs is because the big submitters request only those that grade 69 or higher be slabbed. I'd suggest you buy them slabbed - especially if you are looking for 69s. I'll routinely buy large quantities and slab them. Even taking into consideration that I buy the coins cheaper than the general public and get the grading at a reduced cost, I still lose money on the 69s.
It's intresting that this came up. I put together a box of 28 ASE Proofs for NGC slabbing last night. This will be my first attempt at third party grading and you are right... I am hoping for an MS70 grade on at least a number of them as they are all dupes that I can sell. Should I sit on this idea, as I have not yet mailed them. I am by no means a grader of Of Proof coins so here is my next question... In an ad in Numismatic News, a major advertizer has slabbed ASE Proofs, some of which go for $500.00 or more. These are also known as Registry coins in the ad. What is the difference between regular slabbed 70's and Registry slabbed 70's? Is it worth taking the chance in sending them in and how do I aquire Registry status? Many thanks.
Without seeing the coins it is impossible to say, however here is what someone received back from PCGS today with their collection: 1 1 14277387 9801 1986 $1 Eagle US MS69 2 1 14277388 9808 1987 $1 Eagle US MS63 3 1 14277389 9816 1988 $1 Eagle US MS68 4 1 14277390 9826 1989 $1 Eagle US MS67 5 1 14277391 9836 1990 $1 Eagle US MS65 6 1 14277392 9846 1991 $1 Eagle US MS65 7 1 14277393 9856 1992 $1 Eagle US MS69 8 1 14277394 9866 1993 $1 Eagle US MS68 9 1 14277395 9876 1994 $1 Eagle US MS66 10 1 14277396 9886 1995 $1 Eagle US MS67 11 1 14277397 9900 1996 $1 Eagle US MS65 12 1 14277398 9912 1997 $1 Eagle US MS64 13 1 14277399 9929 1998 $1 Eagle US MS65 14 1 14277400 9947 1999 $1 Eagle US MS65 15 1 14277401 9949 2000 $1 Eagle US MS65 16 1 14277402 9954 2001 $1 Eagle US MS65 17 1 14277403 9959 2002 $1 Eagle US MS68 17 2 14277404 9959 2002 $1 Eagle US MS68 18 1 14277405 9964 2003 $1 Eagle US MS68 19 1 14277406 99970 2004-W $1 Eagle US PR69DC 20 1 14277407 99975 2005-W $1 Eagle US PR69DC 21 1 14277408 799976 2006-W $1 Eagle US PR69DC 22 1 14277409 149571 2007-W $1 Eagle US PR69DC 23 1 14277410 393059 2008-W $1 Eagle US PR70DC They did get back one PR70 coin, however all of the MS coins except two came in under MS69 so they lost a lot of value there plus grading fees.
Thanks. Intresting, as this is a similar lot to mine...hmmmm, to do or not to do, that is my quandry.
I'd say it's not worth it. There's an over abundance of 69 Silver eagles everywhere you look. They sell them in magazines that have nothing to do with coins. They sell them on the tv shows. Coin magazines are full of them. Isn't there anything else you'd be curious to know what grade they would receive? You're welcome to try but it's just my opinion. There's a good chance all of them come back as 69s and you won't be able to sell them for anymore than they were worth loose. That's the problem. Where on the other hand, even a low grade EF capped bust half for example, can be worth a lot more if the grade is known. I believe Silver eagles and modern commems are usually automatically assumed to be at least 69s from the mint because they should be!! Anything less is usually obvious. Like gmarguli said, let the dealers send the batches in at a reduced cost to find out what are 70s. Than keep an eye on ebay for them as they come out (each year). I got a 2008-W $1 silver eagle NGC PF70 UC on ebay for 83 bucks a couple months ago. Free shipping. The coin would have orginally cost about 40 dollars from the mint to begin with, plus 15 dollars for a grading fee, plus shipping from both places. The seller wasn't happy that was all he got for it. Maybe the 08s or the 09s will be the expensive ones in the future. Get them now, already graded and then you won't have to pay $500 to get one down the road or waste money on grading bullion coins.
