If you mean directly from the mint, yes. Last I checked there were 14 dealers nationwide who were authorized to buy the unc ASE's directly from the mint. They distribute/sell them to other dealers around the country. But that doesn't mean you can't buy them - you can. You just have to buy them from the dealers.
I have questions about proof sets too. First question is whether a proof set that has been cracked open can be resealed? That is, if I buy one on ebay, can I tell whether it's been tampered with? Or do the cases open and close with no way to detect that? Which brings up another question -- why the empty boxes/cases and COAs sell on ebay. I would like to think that the purpose is benign, but.. well, this is ebay. What are people doing that they would need the box/case/COA? Also, I'm trying to understand the factors that affect the market for the proof sets. I somehow was smart enough to pick up the 1999 silver proof set years ago, and when I was checking prices yesterday, see that it was appreciated tremendously. Now, since this was the first year for the state quarters, I can see why this set is in demand. But then as I was looking at the 2003-2005 proof sets, something interesting came up: the 2005 (and seemingly the 2006) clad state quarter proof sets are appreciating faster than the silver quarter proof sets! I would think it'd be smarter to get the silver sets, since the price is barely different from the clads. No? And I had no idea that people were putting proof coins into circulation! It's not like it can pass for a regular coin, because of the mint mark -- in other words, it will be a messed up proof coin, not a very nice AU.
Sets from 1968 to 1998 usually can't be opened without being able to detect the tampering. With the introduction of the state quarters in 1999 they changed the proof sets and stopped sealing them closed. All of the sets from 1999 to date can be easily opened and closed with no evidence of tampering. this led to some scams in 1999 and 2000. In 1999 there was a "rash" of error proof sets being sold on eBay and bringing big money. They all were missing one of the state quarters and had two of one of them. These set clad sets were selling for $300 or more. But all you had to do was buy five regular sets, open them, rearrange the quarters, close the sets and sell them for big bucks. The second scam appeared in 2000 when some "Extremely rare ten piece 1999 proof sets" began showing up on eBay. The 1999 Proof SBA came out too late in the year to be included in the proofsets. But the sellers claim these were some special VIP sets made up for special presentations. What they really were were 2000 sets that had been opened and the coins replaced with 1999 coins including the SBA and then closed again. (The inserts on the 1999 sets were a different color though than the inserts used for 2000 sets making these easy to spot if you knew what you were looking at.) These also sold for big bucks.
http://search.ebay.com/silver-eagle-roll_W0QQfromZR40QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQssPageNameZWLRS here's a link to e-bay there was a thread of dealers when they first came out but i can't find it,i'll look when i get home at where i bought.
The '68 to '98 sets can't usually be opened cleanly as Conder101 said but there is a small percentage that can and those busting them in quantities could make use of this. There is evidence that's left behind though so you could spot these if they ever became popular (I've never seen one). Where the plastic was sealed it will turn white when opened. It's possible this white could be polished out. The '68 set is particularly tough to open but dates like 1972 are often a breeze. Proof coins are legal tender and can circulate but rarely for long. I found a '68 proof quarter worn down to VG a few years back. The proof set market is subject to the same forces as other coins; supply and demand.
I found the info buried on the mint's web site a few years ago. At the time there were only 11 authorized dealers. There are now 14 to the best of my knowledge. I know who 11 of them are but not the newest 3. The following is from a previous post I made here back in '03. Authorized Purchasers must meet strict financial and professional criteria, which must be validated by an independent and internationally-recognized accounting firm. The minimum ordering requirement for Authorized Purchasers of the American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin is 25,000 ounces. In addition, the Authorized Purchaser must be an experienced and established market-maker in silver bullion coins, as well as provide a two-way market for the coins, have an established broad base of retail customers in which to distribute the coins and must have a tangible net worth of at least $5 million. The United States Mint currently sells American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins to 11 Authorized Purchasers worldwide. The Silver Eagle Authorized Purchasers in the United States are: A-Mark Precious Metals in Los Angeles, SCB/Mocatta Bullion in New York, Jack Hunt Coin Brokers in New York, Salomon Smith Barney in New York, Prudential Securities, Inc. (New York), The Gold Center (Illinois) and HSBC Bank in New York, with sales domestically and abroad. The international Silver Eagle Authorized Purchasers are Commerzbank International (Luxembourg), Deutsche Bank A.G. (Germany), Union Bank of Switzerland (Zurich) and Hang Seng Bank (Hong Kong).
