Blue Pack Ikes

Of course.

 

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Here's the real dope folks.

The 1971-S 40% Silver Business Strike IKE's were stored and shipped to the packager in $1,000 bags. The net result was a baggy poor quality coin. PCGS has graded 2 examples in MS68 and less than 400 in MS67. The MS67 grade had been the King Grade until a couple of years ago when the MS68 Bubble got popped.

For 1972 through 1974, the coins were packaged in tubes for shipment to the packagers with the net result being much higher quality coins. 1972, being the inaugural "tube" year and the 1st year of a "new" minting process (the tubes) has a relatively high nimber of MS68 coins with retail prices ranging anywhere from $85 to $140 for strong MS68's. MS69 was also on the cards for 1972 but as the process evolved and workers became less "quality conscious", the quality began to taper off in 1973 and 1974. The number of MS68's is nearly half of what came out in 1972 and the prices reflect that number.

MS69's for 1973 and 1974 can be somewhat intimidating.

Although the photo below is not "typical" for a 1971-S Blue Pack IKE, I just could not resist sending this one in wrapped in it's OGP!




My biggest fear was that the coin would get a Genuine since the surfaces were simply terrible.