Grading of 25th Silver Eagle Aniversary Set

I've created a new thread on the grading of the 25th aniversary set to get opinions in one place on the pro's and con's of grading of this set. I received my five sets on Thursday and they're sitting beside me on a table in the unopened mint box. I'm a coin collector who loves copper and silver coins but have never sent coins into a grading company. I've only got a few graded coins that I bought for cheap at an auction. My first question is should I send all 5 sets to a grading company in the sealed mint box? What grading company (I'm thinking NGC)? What type of member should I become assuming I pick NGC? Does it take long to become a member and can I immediately send in the box for grading to get the early release status? Why should early release even matter? Why grade the three coins in the set that you can get through other means? Does the 25th aniversary designation matter on these coins? Since the grading will cost nearly as much as the set, will it pay off in the end? I should say that I'm not interested in selling them but just curious about the future value of my collection.

 

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Well, it's kind of already been covered here fairly well...

http://www.cointalk.com/t194432/

Somebody has got a pre-sale for a set of 70s going right now and it is bid up over $2400 for one set. After ebay fees and grading, you could keep 4 sets free and clear and pocket about $500 for your efforts. If you get all 69s back, you're out about $500. Are you a gambler?

I thought I read somewhere that NGC would not be using the early release designation for this set since it didn't make sense?? I think one of them wasn't going to use it. And you're right, it is a total joke for use by tv sellers. Early release is meaningless to me for any issue. I think in people's imaginations, they believe the dies were fresher when the early releases were made so theoretically, "they're the best possible strike".

Fortunately, this isn't the early 19th century. Materials are better, in higher quantities and easier to come by to the point where I'm not going to worry about a "late die state" for ASEs. If there is a difference from the very first one off the line to the last, it would probably not be measurable.
Maybe in a hundred years, the ASE craze will get so bad that there will be LDS varieties with weak centers and cracks all over as they shatter from over-use?

 

Thanks Vess for the link to the grading thread. I guess I miss that one somehow. Also, thanks for your opinion above. I'm still very confused with the early release designation. Why pay extra for something that doesn't mean anything? NGC should retract it. I must say that it is very difficult to not open the box and send it directly to NGC. It's a little unsettling!

 

Phil I'm in the same boat as you. My coins arrived yesterday and they sit on the table. To grade or not to grade? I just want one of the five sets and want to flip the others so hopefully I'll finally have enough cash to buy my 34'S peace dollar. I've sent things into NGC before, I like them but I have been surprised by the grades I have received before so thier is a lot at stake. What if you get 25 MS 68-69's back? If you want to send them into NGC the way I did it was to join ANA than you can submit to NGC without being a member, but it will take some time to do the applications and paperwork.

 

Well, like I said, I think it's all psychological. Some think the earliest ones were made with brand new dies so they have the best possible strike. (Dies haven't 'worn' yet in theory.) But who knows how many dies they're using and how often they're replaced? Others just want the designation to feel like it's a notch above the rest. While others probably want it just following the herd and couldn't give a good explanation as to why it matters but will pay for it.

We know for sure the reverse proof and 'S' mm dies were required to produce less than 100k examples, depending on how many different ones they used. Is that enough to even break them in?

If you only wanted to get the two keys graded, you can open the box and still do it. They'll still get the 25th label. And that way you could only send the best ones you get. Keep the other sets together in original packaging. It seems like an excellent compromise to me.

 

Since they sold out the sets in 5-hours, how can they tell if the sets were early releases or not? Also, how would anyone know the sequence of the coins in each set? I can't see where the early release status means anything other than that you sent the set into the grading company prior to someone else. Am I missing something?

 

I have decided not to grade mine. I keep my ASE's in OGP and these will be no exception. I think that the box will be so nice that you will not want to have the coins in slabs, this is what I've heard.

 

I'm leaving for India tomorrow for a five weeks. I've decided to leave it in the box and decide whether to open it or grade it on Christmas. Problem solved. I've decided that early release is some stupid gimmic created by the HSN crowd.

 

Keep in mind this way you won't get the First Strike designation from PCGS if you want it. I know it's ridiculous, but people pay more for it.

 

Let the minions pay extra for a designation that means absolutely nothing. I'm not selling mine anyway but I may have them graded. It is my opinion that the 25th aniversary designation is more important than the meaningless first strike or early release designation. To be perfectly honest, I'm not really that overwhelmed by the 25th aniversary thing but I can see why it might be important to know that it once came from this most gorgeous set. The mint did good on this one!

 

I ordered 2 sets and 1 set, was planning on sending the single order for grading but I suspect my second order wont go through, can I send the first order unopened with 2 sets to NGC and only grade the higher of the sets? that way I keep 1 original 1 graded

 

LCS or join grading service myself?

Are people submitting for grading through their LCS or are they paying the fee to join either PCGS or NGC? I think I would prefer to join and submit myself vs. going through the LCS just because it seems easier in the long run, but is there something that I'm overlooking?

 

I joined rather than submit through a local coin dealer because I didn't want to take the chance that he would be submitting his own sets, and would get them mixed up with his. If this happened, I am sure I wouldn't get the highest graded ones that came back. I feel better about my chances on my own, and it wasn't that difficult.

 

Thats sort of what i was thinking, even if unintentional there might be a mix up.

I know everyones opinion is different , but which service did you go with? I normally prefer PCGS, but I like the pricing and labeling on the NGC more and am leaning that way.

thanks for any feedback.

 

Yes, I think if it happened it would (hopefully) be unintentional, but I could see him shipping them all together without thinking about it.

I went with NGC because it was cheaper if you included the ER designation. I don't buy into that crap, but it is obvious that some buyers do so it was an economical decision. I just wish I could have looked at them first.

 

I went with NGC for a couple of reasons. First and foremost is that I think NGC is much more skilled at grading these so-called "ultra modern" coins than is PCGS and secondly, I think the NGC holder is much more attractive than are the PCGS holders. Don't get me wrong, PCGS is my favorite TPG for all things non-modern, but when it comes to coins like the 25th Anniv set, PCGS is all over the map and is highly grader dependant. IMO NGC is much more skilled at modern grading and seemingly more consistent with their grades. Or at least this has been my experience, ymmv.

 

I'm still thinking about the submission. The ER desingnation is worthless except to HSN. Thus, I've placed my unopened box of five sets under the tree for Chrismas. I'm counting on my forgetfulness to give me the best gift since I was a kid.

 

I have a question for those of you who are going to sell your graded coins. If you get a mixture of grades, will you sell as a mixed set, or individually? It would be easy to sell the 2 unique individually, but if the other 3 coins have mixed 69/70 grades I don't think that would maximize profits.

 

Assuming you've submitted a lot of 5 sets culling together a combination of 5 in each grade shouldn't be too difficult. However, if you're only submitting 1 or 2 sets for grading, that could be a real issue. I'm now on day 6 and they're now in the "Scheduled for grading" section. I've got my fingers crossed I see lots of 70's!

 

My five sets are going to NGC.
I'm hoping for all 70's, but not really expecting it.
I will try to put sets of the same grade together.
Any that I sell will stay slabbed but go with the OGP.