2021 LE silver proof set finally arrived- Going back!

If you don't like your purchase from the mint, by all means send it back. I've only done so on one occasion, back in 2014, regarding the Kennedys. I ordered 4 sets and every one of them was substandard in my regard. Still, I kept the best of the worse, and sent the rest back for a refund. Note I kept one. It ain't always sunny in Philadelphia people.........

 

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I disagree there as the point of the process is to make a proof not perfect. Spotting/hazing isn't a manufacturing defect. The QC of what actually happens gets overhyped.

It actually is pretty well known from the start. Some spot immediately, some take time, some never will. It's unfortunate and one of the reasons why I generally stay away from proofs now, but it is a reality

Generally I would too, but I wouldnt in this case. That'd just be a refund when he could very likely still sell the eagles for about if not more than the purchase price and then find ones he liked.

 

I've been buying proof sets direct from the mint for over 50 years now. My experiences of decades past were much better than they have been in the last 3-5 years. The mint has gradually lowered the bar for what they release as proof in the recent few years.

As people now accept the lesser quality they receive the mint has no incentive to improve their product or their QC.

 

That’generally not true. It’s a planchet or wash issue that has happened for a decade or so and part of the issue is that the mirrors are so deep on modern proofs any little thing stands out.

 

Your perspective is off here. A 67 is a stunning hypergem quality coin just shy of being virtually flawless. You're saying you're not looking for perfection, but the level of quality you're expecting is not what the mint is advertising or guaranteeing. You're ordering coins and the quality is just shy of virtually flawless and you're complaining.

 

I think we have a "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" situation here. While my recent 2021 LE set was received in pristine condition, I agree with the OP about the quality of the packaging across the board in 2021, which has been cheapened considerably.

 

Yeah I would expect all coins to have a shot at PF70s when I receive them with the chance that there could be a speck here or there that would make them a 69. As I’ve received in the past. I can accept that. The Pilgrim anniversary proofs had no issues.

These aren’t specks. These are obvious spots that are quite large that were sent out the door. The other coins in the set don’t have them. Like I said before the price point warrants my expectation. Not this. If the set was cheaper it’d be easier to live with it.

I suspect the mint is relying heavily on people not getting these graded, not fully inspecting what they get, or maybe having poor eye sight so the product seems better than they are. I spoke with somebody else I know personally who bought this set and they’re returning theirs as well due to the same issues on their Type 1 ASE and others in the set.
Being the last product of the year with these ASEs for all you know the reject send backs from the earlier ASE releases could have been dumped back in the pile and put in these sets. I wouldn’t put it past them.

 

I almost never buy directly from the US mint because I generally don't care for modern issues. My experience is largely ordering from foreign mints, for which there are usually a few different finishes and set types available. I am used to expecting the absolute very best mint products (business and collector finishes) to top out at 68 with most at 66-67, and for proofs to at best have a shot at 69. If those grades sound low to you, they shouldn't. Those are all hypergem coins! The expectations of US collectors for mint quality always makes them come off as spoiled to me.

 

I appreciate your feedback and that's why I start threads like this. Sometimes I feel like I need the perspective of other collectors to compare with my own thinking to see if I'm being reasonable or unreasonable. I've ordered enough from them to come to expect a certain quality at a minimum.

I'm mainly only disappointed with the 2 out of the 6 so it's a shame. I feel like they could have screened them out but nobody's taking the time to inspect what's going in the packages. Would assume they're randomly loading them as quickly as possible and then it still takes a month to get them.
They don't make a claim that you should expect PF70s but they also don't put the info out there that you may receive randomly spotted/hazy proofs in a brand new product order and this is out of their quality control. They would lose business if they did. I know it's been happening and obviously they have lost business based on peoples experiences.

I suspect the planchets are spotted before the coins are even struck. They should be able to go through a brightly lit scanning machine at 50 mph and weed out this stuff. But I guess that's a pipe dream in 2021. The spotting "may be common" but since not all of them have it, it's obviously possible to put a better proof product out than what I received. It all depends on how picky the end customer wants to be. Maybe they need to figure out what's causing this or quit making the proofs?

 

And now on a Saturday morning trying to get through to customer service this was my experience.

Live chat: Unavailable.
Online form: Fill out and won't submit
Call 1: Automated answering service followed by busy signal.
Call 2: Automated answering service followed by out of service tone and automated voice telling me "my call cannot be completed as dialed."

I think the IRS is easier to get a hold of. At this point its not worth my time, additional shipping, and delay. I likely will just keep the set and not order any more. I can trade it on something else if it bothers me enough.

 

I returned my set yesterday. The coins were nice enough but the packaging was total junk. For the price of this item it should have included a nice display box . I went online to complete the process, download a shipping label and sent it off. Now the wait to see if they credit my card back before the bill is due.

 

If all collectors stopped buying then the Mint would be forced to introduce Quality Control into there process. The government started ISO standards but they don’t use them for themselves.

 

So true. If you want to make change you have to hit them where it hurts the most which is usually the bottom line.

 

Exactly and maybe they’ll start listening.

 

"Close enough for Government work," was a standard when I was in the service, but if customers are unhappy with a purchased product, they should make the manufacture or seller aware of it.
I too, would return what I'm totally not happy with. Accepting less is telling them it's okay to send inferior items.

 

Yeah, I changed my mind. I think I'm just going to print a return label and send em back. Its a shame.