So I ordered 5 sets of the ASE silver set on the 2nd day they were available. I was thinking of keeping 3 sets for my kids, but I ordered 5 sets just in case they sold out in a heartbeat. They didn't and I sorta forgot about these till the arrived about 2 weeks back. I was leaving town the day after they arrived so never looked at em till today. Well, so anyways, after hearing you guys gripe about the mint quality, I thought you were just a bunch of whiners . Well, I looked over my coins, and I "built" one set I was reasonably happy with (not looking for MS/PF70 here, but I expect there to be no dings and stuff) and a second I could "live with." The rest have dings on the coins, or there appear to be pinprick sized defects. Is this typical or did I get a lousy batch? I noticed one of the proof sets has a piece of something under it but otherwise looks ok. Will things trapped under the plastic diminish the value of the coin if it's otherwise perfect? What about waterspot like appearance on the coins? I'd really like to at least get 2 sets I'm happy with so I'm just trying to figure out which one's I should keep. Originally I was going to return what I wasn't happy with, but after looking to eBay I see I can probably just peddle what I don't want and pay for what I keep.
I have a slightly different question. Has "perfection" become the new standard? It sounds as if the mint is expected to ship a very large percentage of virtually perfect coins and if they don't collectors are disappointed. Wasn't the rarity of "perfection" the thing that gave those coins higher values in the past? I didn't order this set, so I don't know how bad the coins look or whether they would grade MS/PF69 or 65 or if it really should matter either way. But expectations seem sky-high these days, and I don't know if that's realistic.
Modern manufactoring technique certainly alows for must better coins. Just look at the old walking liberties! Ruben
It's not realistic to expect perfection.Anyone who assumes that all proof coins will grade 69 or 70 is delusional BUT,I do expect that for $100 for three coins,someone along the Mint assembly line could snap the airtight holders shut and press them firmly into the holes in the display box.This is not an issue of USPS people throwing mailbags around the freight terminal or hitting potholes with their trucks,if you put them in firmly,an earthquake couldn't dislodge them.I feel like writing my congressman with the perfect soloution...trained chimps?
I know a lot of people do not keep up with dealers on the secoundary market , but i have noticed that the NGC 70 certified coins have dropped by about half from what they were orgianlly. One that i have bought some stuff from has dropped his orginal price form $4,800 to $2,200. That is down about $600 from last week. I was never going to buy them at these prices as i felt there were to many coins still out there that have not even been shipped from the mint much less graded.
I think that the mint is overwelmed with all the production orders and quotas that they have to deal with,the coin cant all be 69 or 70 i imagine that they try to do there best they cant make every body happy
