you won't believe this one........

I had casually mentioned on the Chat Boards that I had gotten my ASE 25th Anniversary order for 2 sets placed at around 6:00pm EST on the day of release ( 10/27/11).

My order was immediately placed on backorder and every week or 2 I have gotten an email bumping it further down the road..EXAMPLE: your order is scheduled to ship appx 11/25..on 11/25 I'd get an email saying, " your order expected to ship 12/7..and on and on it went week after week..my latest was " your order expected to ship 01/06/12..and then as the 6th came I got another email postponing it until Jan 23rd.

I actually called the mint after this final email and asked them if there was actually any chance that I still might receive my order- or if this random generated email would eventually turn into, " your order has been canceled" --as so many others have received after their backorders had fallen by the wayside because of dwindling supplies and their lower place on the list. The person I spoke with at the mint's phone line assured me that there was still a chance but that she wasn't guaranteeing anything.

At this point I calmly vented a little- I also explained to her the bit of a pickle I was in by the circumstances. I really would like a set and am going to purchase one regardless. The issue is that I have been collecting coins for years and years and recognize the reality of what occurs with a high demand set like these. FIRST: a huge demand and dealers snaggging up extras, a shortage for collectors orders and prices skyrocket ( I believe some were $3000 for unopened raw sets or pre-ordered all 70 sets.). SECONDLY: next comes the over-correction ( which I believe we are in now) as dealers and collectors who purchased 5 sets try and sell off the extras. I saw a set on Teletrade I believe sell for under $800 for 69's in First Strike PCGS anniversary holders and even some perfect 70's sets at near $1000. Third: after the "extra" sets have cleared out, many of those who wanted sets and didn't have the funds at the time- Christmas bills, waiting for tax returns etc etc-- now are in the market and the true cost starts to level out as costs slowly drift back up some.

I was/am hoping to get my sets in this window before prices rise again- either from my order or purchasing them already graded ( heck- $300 for the set + $200 for grading/shipping etc is $500 or buy on ebay for $700 already slabbed). But I fear that if I wait the 69's will be back over a grand by mid-2012.

So to finish with a happy ending, I got a HUGE surprise of an email yesterday. After nearly 3 months since I placed my order, I got an email from the mint dated 01/13/12.." your order #xxxxxx has been shipped" complete with a tracking number !!

Wow, I thought it was a foregone conclusion and had already been pricing sets and trying to decide what holder and grade I was going to buy--and now I am going to get my 2 sets from the mint.

Of course it will be a few months most likely before I can actually see my coins because when they arrive I won't be able to open the box and look at them-- they'll go straight off for encapsulation ( mainly because I don't want to lose the authentication for the 3 coins that were also issued seperately).

I won't bore you with more posts during the process about , receiving them, shipping them, their progress through grading and their grades-- do you really care if I get 70's on my coins??

So, if anyone else is stuck in the same dilemma and getting backorder status emails--there may still be a faint glimmer of hope--no matter how dim that glimmer is getting, it might just still happen.......

And my first journal without a coin pic-- my first grandchild, granddaughter Jade, now 17 months old--what joy !!