So it's no secret that I like mint and proof sets and will regularly patrol eBay looking for ones that catch my interest. There's something that bugs me and curious if it's just me? Here's my question... what posesses sellers to make a big deal about showing an opened mint shipping package (box or envelope) along with a spread of the inner coin envelopes? They claim these were the original sets that came in the said package, but what proof other than their word is there to back up this claim? Unless that package is still mint sealed, it's a definite pass for me. I want that rush that comes with breaking that seal and being the first to lay my eyes on it. It's kinda like someone giving you an open box of Cracker Jacks only to find the prize isn't there. I'm pretty sure it's just another selling tactic to catch someone's eye and hope they were born yesterday. Thoughts...
Most likely, so did they. And when they found they didn't get a prize, well, maybe showing the original packaging will convince some people that it's worth more. After all, it hasn't had a string of several owners running up the mileage on it, each one wearing it down a little more with the pressure of their eyeballs staring through the film...
Would it not be maybe a bit unusual for a person to purchase and receive a mint set and then not open it? It would make me crazy to not look at the glimmering prize inside the mint envelope..... Of course only to close that envelope and proceed to forget about it in my safe for years!
Actually that's part of my point. You don't know that any of those sets in the pics really came out of that open box. They can grab any random sets for that year they have laying around and say they came from it. Just like a barker at a carnival... step right up and try your luck.
Not at all unusual in my book. Some buy the sealed set to open and inspect for outstanding coins. Other's buy the set to leave sealed and sell at a profit years later. The people that open their sets have discovered the errors but the chances are low of finding that error. But a sealed set is unknown and that can draw big money, more than an opened set that's normal. And we all know the fascination of the unknown, a chance to discover. Kind of like the lottery. I don't see what the Mint produces today to be sealed in any way. Just open the end and put it back in the holder. There is no seal. However the older Mint packaging had sealed envelopes and boxes. Once opened they can not be resealed. Even a steamed open envelope that's been resealed is noticeable. Older Mint sealed packaging doee command solid prices.
I've seen it stated here on multiple occasions that those old Mint envelopes were not actually sealed as issued from the mint, even though they had gum strips; supposedly, they only seal if they're stored in a humid environment for a while.
I've seen sealed ones but when it was sealed, I can't say. In my younger days when the Mint sealed these things I was unable to afford them then.
They can and have been resealed. Theres other ways to do it than by steaming ect. Do you honestly think people haven't figured out how to make money off of something so simple given all the effort that gets put into trying to doctor things? Resealing an envelope is much easier than the work some of the coin doctors are doing
Not to mention that empty, unsealed, "new" Mint envelopes are always for sale on eBay. So if you open a set and it isn't a prize, you can "seal" it into a new envelope, ready for the next happy gambler!
Also very true. I would bet that the overwhelming majority of those "sealed envelopes" are manufactured. There's just not many people that would buy something and not look at it ever for 50+ years, unless of course they were hoping to hold out for the first strike designations in the future
All I'm saying is there are ways to tell if it's been resealed. Do your own research to find out how.
Only if they did a sloppy job. Anyone out there saying they can tell definitively every time is overstating their abilities Besides you don't even have to reseal envelopes you can just get one that wasn't and seal it. Sets can't be matched to who ordered them
