Art B made his posting a little while ago about the grades he got for his 2008 Proof Silver Eagles.

He also made a couple comments that got me thinking.

He first said of the 30 he had, he only submitted 24. Personally, with the potential for "Early Releases" designation, why not send the other six as well? Were they that bad? I ask because with my 2007 Proof Silver Eagles for instance, I submitted all that I had gotten, 15 I believe to start with, and as I recall, 12 or 13 of them came back as PF70UC, the others as PF69UC -- nothing lower. Of course I am hoping for the same with my 2008 submission.

Is the Early Release designation not more appealing to some collectors than a raw coin that MIGHT come back as a 68? Is the 68 (or less) even common in the PROOF version of the Silver Eagles?

That said, that really wasn't the comment that really caught my attention. Art said he was REALLY hoping for a 69*.

So here's my question:

Would a PF69* (let's say Cameo) be MORE desirable than a PF70 Ultra Cameo? If so, why?

I mean I know that * designations show that "extra eye appeal" that are not necessarily just short of the next grade, but might be just short of Ultra Cameo for instance. They don't have separate prices in the price guides, but they do seem to command premium in auctions on eBay from what I've seen anyway. However, compared to a 70 grade coin, which would you pick? Speaking for myself, I'd opt for (and hope for) the PF70 Ultra Cameo.

Just curious to hear from Art about his thinking, and to hear from others about their take on it. I see collectors really bid up those star* coin on eBay such that I often bow out of the bidding very early.