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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;in5urgent, post: 1789827, member: 56083&quot;]<font face="Arial"><span style="color: #000000">Others have already replied to your question with essentially the same answer, but personally I always prefer an answer from an authoritative source on the subject.</span></font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><font face="Arial"><span style="color: #000000">The following is from <u>American Silver Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program</u>.&nbsp; (2012, Whitman Publishing LLC: Atlanta, GA).&nbsp; It was co-written by John M. Mercanti, former chief engraver of the U.S. Mint, and Michael Standish, the first full-time coin grader at PCGS and currently the firm’s senior grader and vice president of business development.&nbsp; I believe that Standish wrote the following excerpts.&nbsp; At the beginning of <i>Chapter 3: Coin-by-Coin Study of American Silver Eagles</i> (Kindle location 1007) he explains:</span></font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="color: #000000"><b><font face="Times New Roman">A note about First Strikes</font></b><font face="Times New Roman">: Since 2005, PCGS has designated American Silver Eagles packaged and delivered by the U.S. Mint in the first 30 days since the initial sales date as <i>First Strike</i>.&nbsp; If a particular American Silver Eagle goes on sale January 1, any coin packaged or delivered and submitted to PCGS for certification between January 1 and January 31 qualifies for this designation.&nbsp; PCGS verifies a coin was shipped from the Mint within the first 30 days either a) if the coin is shipped to PCGS from the customer with a postmarked date prior to the 30-day cutoff date; or b) if the customer does not open the sealed package that came from the Mint, and the PCGS confirms that it has an appropriate postmarked date.</font></span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><font face="Arial"><span style="color: #000000">Later in the chapter, in the section about the 2006-W Proof (Kindle location 1663):</span></font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="color: #000000"><i><font face="Times New Roman">Coin World</font></i><font face="Times New Roman"> associate editor Steve Roach used the 2006-W Proof as an example in an article about First Strike coins.&nbsp; “By virtue of population numbers alone, early release coins generally are not scarcer than their later-issued brethren,” he noted.&nbsp; “Take for example the Proof 2006-W American Eagle silver dollar.&nbsp; As of mid-June, PCGS graded 7,285 examples under its normal program and 7,716 pieces under its First Strike program.&nbsp; The early release programs take into account only when a coin was shipped from the U.S. Mint, not when it was minted.&nbsp; The programs were first developed by the grading services in 2005.&nbsp; The ‘First Strikes’ are visually imperceptible from their later-released counterparts” [Coin World, “First Strikes, Early Releases: Buyers Should Do Homework,” August 1, 2011]</font></span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><font face="Arial"><span style="color: #000000">I think that the first excerpt pretty much sums up what “First Strike” is, and the fact that PCGS’ Standish would voluntarily quote Roach’s article explaining the worthlessness of it for collectors should be pretty illustrative.</span></font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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