When buying Proof or Unc coins directly from the Mint, do you prefer 1. ...coins that are exclusively MS/PF69 or MS/PF70 condition...or 2. ...predominately lower grade coins with a "chance" for a higher grade coin that would trade at a significant premium?
Nice topic. I had to go with two. As a kid I used to buy all the problem coins like clean, dings, digs, edge bruises and so on cause thats what I could afford but now I am getting rid of those and upgrading to medium grade with a occasional high grade coin. It's a much better visually and mentally to own something nicer.
Ditto, My coin collecting habits of late tend to be along the lines of what they were when I started out. Not so hung up on checking the gold spot every half hour to see what the value of my coins were that day. I collect from all series and all grades focusing on unique looking pieces and die varieties. HAVING MUCH MORE FUN Must be my second childhood Stewart
How could anyone not want to get a high grade coin? How many other situations in life can you think of where you prefer to deal with vendors who sell mostly inferior merchandise? How often do you hear things like "I know this plumber usually does a poor job that requires upgrading later, but that will make it all the more fun if we happen to hire him on a good day."
Cloudsweeper99, Completely understand your point. But I would not pass up a lincoln 1955 doubled die in XF or a 1922 weak D in VF or a 1974-S Micro-S Eisenhower in proof 64 (Mintage 10,000) because they were not high grade. I would love them just the same:hug: Stewart
I don't think of direct purchases from the Mint in terms of buying graded coins. With the Mint it's hit or miss given their track record for quality every bit as much as what one's subjective eye deems a coin ordered from the Mint may grade as 'MS/PF69 or MS/PF70' when submitted to a TPG in the hopes that it will come back with such a grade. With the Mint, misses likely outweigh the hits, hence people who order in volume to offset the misses. The better the individual grader, the higher their product return rate to the Mint will be given the quality control issues of the Mint's mass produced product(s) and the less loss the individual grader who submits coins will realize over time. Therefore, I can't really vote on the poll as the Mint doesn't give customers or dealers the choice when buying direct to get their coins in any particular grade, as compared to the 70 point Sheldon scale. Graded coins and the US Mint are two completely separate and subjective things. As for peoples buying preference of 'MS/PF69 or MS/PF70' compared to anything below that on the grading scale, I'd have to say that people buy any and all grades depending on the parameters they've set out for their collection and what their budget will allow-- and in so much, there really are no inferior grades of coins. Collectors and Dealers alike, buy all graded coins (TPG slabbed or otherwise) all the time, from the highest to the lowest 'grades' below the top two, 'MS/PF69 or MS/PF70' when not buying direct from the Mint. Some prefer XFs, AUs, MSs, etc. for myriad reasons that we are all familiar with given the specifics of each coin, it's uniqueness or lack thereof. I hope that the Mint will not implement separate categories within their product lines. It could be a major customer relations faux pas to begin moving in on the graded/certified coin sales market with their own product should they be thinking to circumvent Dealers and collectors alike and to capitalize on their holdings of 'superior' coins. This would instantly reduce the availability of such coins to fewer and fewer individual collectors where now it's closer to the luck of the draw for all customers. I don't think the US Mint's coin programs were designed for this purpose and going by the demand of their product they are already making consistent profits without looking into ways to raise further premiums on would be TPG graded products that serve their profit margin and whomever would be the authorized Mint TPG. This raises several other questions for me: if the Mint selected a TPG to grade their coins which would in turn be sold by the US Mint upon release of these coins, how would that TPG company be fairly selected to serve the public? Would there be more than one TPG product sold by the Mint so no TPG monopolized the Mint's submitted coins? Would the US Mint begin their own internal TPG Department? Perhaps hiring in the best in the field and undermining existing TPG companies? Would this be all about profit or a move to control the TPG industry and future issues with counterfeiting that are beginning to affect TPGs negatively? What would this do to the overall hobby of collecting? What sentiment and hell-raising would Dealers and Collectors bring down on the Mint for such decisions? Would boycotting the Mint be successful? Would the current relationship between the Mint and its customers be irreparably damaged? Good topic Yakpoo! I hope my queries/thinking-aloud didn't take this too far off the OP. I'm passing at this time on voting the poll given my above comments/thoughts.
Nice comments! I think the Mint does provide coins at different quality levels...Unc and Proof. Proof coins have always been handled with more care than the Uncs. It seems like a lot of the First Spouse coins are bought in the first week or two and there are many returns. The returned coins are put back in stock and shipped back out in subsequent orders. When I buy First Spouse coins a month or two after they go on sale, I still get PF69/70 Proof coins, but I've had bad luck getting an Unc coin without some sort of damage. This has been especially true (for me) with the the Anna Harrison Unc coin. Initially, I was very mad and would keep returning the coins, only to get a another damaged coin in return. Once...I received the exact same coin back that I had returned!! I was thinking that since the Mint charges such high premiums for these coins, I should be able to expect a PERFECT coin. Then I started to think that the Mint has always handled Unc coins more roughly than Proof coins. It's fun finding the elusive "high quality" specimen and being rewarded with a truely rare registery coin. I recently found a really nice Unc 1962 FBL Franklin and it feels like hitting the lottery!! So...I'm really conflicted. I don't know if I want every coin to be a perfect coin...or take the chance of finding a really nice one in a sea of so-so coins. I'm really interested to know what y'all think about the coins you get from the US Mint.
There are a few coin series where I'd rather have a set of circulated pieces versus an uncirculated or high grade set. Seated dimes and Barber dimes come to mind. If people didn't also desire classic used things there wouldn't be a classic car market. Nothing wrong with honest wear. Guy~
