Modern commems pros/cons

[rons]

In your opinion what are the advantages/disadvantages of keeping modern commems and commemorative sets in their original government packaging OGP versus slabbing them? You may submit more than one answer

At what point will OGP become rarer than slabbed if ever?

[bsshog40]

I don't know about value too much for these but I think that anything in OGP will always be desired by alot of collectors.

[Oldtrader3]

I have had some toning issues with silver coins left in the original boxes. The coins started to turn brown.

[chinook]

Classic Commems in original packaging command a premium so I would keep the modern commems in original packaging for my heirs.

[jtryka]

I have no use for modern commems in slabs, all mine are actually stored in the bank in their capsules, with all the packaging here at the house.

[EZ_E]

The main advantage is that the public demands it and will pay a premium for it. Personally, I think that it's a bunch of junk and nuisance. My dollar commems are in Dansco albums so I have dozens of such boxes lying around. Maybe I'll sell 'em on ebay someday.

[jgrinz]

The main advantage is that the public demands it and will pay a premium for it. Personally, I think that it's a bunch of junk and nuisance. My dollar commems are in Dansco albums so I have dozens of such boxes lying around. Maybe I'll sell 'em on ebay someday.

 

There is a market for them too

 

I have no room for extra BOXING ... my set is slabbed - Easy to store with no extra baggage attached kinda like you want yer girlfriends or significant other

NO EXTRA BAGGAGE

 

 

[DC Dawg]

I don't do many commems... only those that interest me.

The few I have (Washington Proof and Unc, First Flight set, and Thomas Edison) are in the original Mint packaging. I think that's fine for my purposes. I know others like to have their modern commems slabbed. That's fine for them. But for me, I happen to like the coin in the original packaging!

 

Scott

[ldhair]

I think the mint made a great choice with the capsules they use.

They seem to have held up well over the years.

The dollar set must be up to 130 piece or so by now.

That's a lot of slabs to store.

 

 

 

[jgrinz]

I think the mint made a great choice with the capsules they use.

They seem to have held up well over the years.

The dollar set must be up to 130 piece or so by now.

That's a lot of slabs to store.

 

I specialized though .. Just GOLD/PLAT

 

[Just Bob]

I think the mint made a great choice with the capsules they use.

They seem to have held up well over the years.

The dollar set must be up to 130 piece or so by now.

That's a lot of slabs to store.

 

I specialized though .. Just GOLD/PLAT

 

 

Selling platinum scrap to buy platinum coins - very ironic, don't you think?

[BillJones]

I have zero interest in modern commemorative coins that are slabbed. A couple years ago I made an effort to get all of the sets that came in wooden boxes. It's really quite an impressive collection once it was done. It's also fun to collect the original sales brochures that mint mailed to collectors. I don’t have very many of them, but it adds something to the collection.

 

I find slabbed modern commemoratives sterile and boring. They are just lumps of medal. Registering them is not a lot fun either because it’s mostly a matter of chasing after PR and MS-70 coins, which gets expensive.

 

[jtryka]

I like the 6-coin sets too, have 3 of them so far...

[jackson64]

I have several Prestige sets..the ogp for those is gorgeous...I especially like my 1986 set with 7 coins in it--Statue of Liberty $ and half included

[Coin]

I got the helz away from the modern commems...the politicians have let their insanity and total lack of reality get in the way of good sense and now they are commemorating everything from already famous people to birds . I had an almost complete set in MS70/PF70, some 69s, off all denoms including gold commems ...all slabbed and in a registry , so storage was a matter of stacking slabs ...the original boxes and COAs went into the dumpster ....I took them in a large box to coin shows and conventions , but no dealer wanted them for free , so I tossed them....a couple weeks later I read where Mike sold some on ebay...I guess people will buy anything on th e bay .

I only have a few OGP material still around that I've found while going about the coin hoarding and stashing habit , uh hobby . I even used them to mail coins out to other board members whenever I am sending ungraded raw stuff.

I solved my storage issues with these by sending them all to Heritage where they auctioned them off for about what I had in them from purchases and submissions , so I got out while my head was still above water with the commems right at when they went crazy and started putting them out by the gazillions .

 

It will most likely be a LONG time before the OGP will be worth anything , however , there are exceptions...like the 1995 ASE anniversary set . Once you separate your OGP'd coins from their boxes and COAs....things start to disappear and get lost . There is nothing wrong with the Gov't plasti-capsules , or the packaging material itself , as long as they are both stored properly .

If you want financial advice about what will be worth more in the future...slabbed as just about 25-30 % of everything is , or raw as the remainder is ...then I don't know , because as each year goes by....another raw set is sold by a dealer from stock to a new collector , who in turn submits it to be graded , etc ...eventually there will only be the ones that people collected intact with their original materials that might garner a premium , but that would take years and years....you can still buy original old commems in original packaging even now. I guess it would depend on which one or set becomes the one that folks want with the material .....a krap-shoot at best to try to guess which ones those will be ....like predicting the future.

[BillJones]

....I took them in a large box to coin shows and conventions , but no dealer wanted them for free , so I tossed them....a couple weeks later I read where Mike sold some on ebay...I guess people will buy anything on th e bay .

 

I know what you mean about th boxes. I was even able to buy the wooden boxes for $5 each a FUN show a couple years ago. I sold them later at a small show to a collector for $10. As for the velvet boxes, they are not worth much of anything.

 

Ironically ALL of the piece parts need to be with raw modern commemorative coins from them to bring the best prices. If the certificate or authenticity is missing, it’s a negative, sometimes a BIG negative. Ditto for the box.

 

Once these commemoratives are cracked out of their capsules (the early capsules cannot be opened and resealed like the newer ones), the values often fall to melt. For that reason, if you are collecting raw sets KEEP EVERYTHING that is inside the mail wrapper. You will be glad you did.

 

One other factor that is making some modern commemorative coins a bit scarcer. Some of them, especially the gold coins in Proof are going to the melting pot. At the FUN show I was trying to fill a want list for a customer. When I asked about a Proof three piece Mt. Rushmore set, a dealer told me, “Oh I set that off to the smelter.”

 

[Coin]

a dealer told me, Oh I set that off to the smelter.

:o

 

I read where SilverTown had buckets of raw and certified gold that they picked up at the last FUN show and were taking back to send off to the smelter . Too bad they don't keep track of this , but then who does . I hope they at least sent back the grading labels so the TPGs could make adjustments.

 

Any modern commems that come my way now, are kept intact . Although I have absolutely no desire to ever do another registry of them , I do have a few odds and ends certified pieces still left in the old registry ( slabbed them because I no longer had the boxes and COAs...got PF69UC's on'm so I could always dump them later for the melt or slab fees ) .

Whenever I come across any commem without any blems or micro-dots that might have a shot at 70 , I'll submit and play the lotto for kicks , but I'm not going all out helz-bent for leather for a complete set of them , just the ones I like...which right now are just fine in their OGHs. (thumbs u

[EZ_E]

I just received the last 11 coins to make a complete set of MS/PR commem dollars, all housed in Dansco albums. I still don't know if I'm going to keep the set or sell it since it is a chore keeping up with the yearly output of the mint. I've already decided to stop collecting mint and proof sets but am still straggling on with the commems.

 

The prices sure shot up for most of the '95 and '95 issues in 2003 and have remained either static or dropped slightly in their prices since then.

[Coin]

I just received the last 11 coins to make a complete set of MS/PR commem dollars, all housed in Dansco albums. I still don't know if I'm going to keep the set or sell it since it is a chore keeping up with the yearly output of the mint. I've already decided to stop collecting mint and proof sets but am still straggling on with the commems.

 

(worship)

 

Now that is Staying Power to keep with it ! Wow ! I remember reading about your Dansco'd commems from a while back , Congrats on the completion up to this point....how many albums does it take to hold all those !?!

That bi-metallic was the kicker for me , in gold MS , and the Pf Jackie Robinson in dollars....those and the fact that Congress keeps directing the Mint to pour them out every year .Definitly KUDOS are due ! (thumbs u

 

What did you do with all the packaging ? I tossed most of mine.

 

[EZ_E]

Thanks, dude! Yeah, I've been working on the set for over 5 years so it was about time that I completed it. :þ I've saved most of the boxes but they are scattered about in different packed boxes so it would be tough to locate them all immediately if I had to. I'll eventually sell them all on ebay since they are just clutter to me.

 

I did receive the 1996 special presentation box for 8 1996 commem dollars. That's a pretty cool package. The first that I've seen.

 

Bummer that I missed the bimetallic coins by a year since I didn't start collecting again until Aug 2002.

[BULLY]

In your opinion what are the advantages/disadvantages of keeping modern commems and commemorative sets in their original government packaging OGP versus slabbing them? You may submit more than one answer

At what point will OGP become rarer than slabbed if ever?

 

So many possibilities.

 

I tend to agree about Modern Commemoratives in that IF your goal is to sell them, or re-sell even SOME of them on the open market, then getting them graded is truly the way to go. The earlier that is done, the better, because the slabbed holders are more likely to protect the coins from possible environmental degradation.

 

If your goal is just to collect a few of the coins YOU like for YOUR own collection, then there are a couple of things to think about:

 

1. Maybe it doesn't make sense to have the coins graded. Grading fees CAN get costly.

 

2. On the the other hand, a highly graded modern commemorative can sell for BIG BUCKS, especially if it's a limited edition design or something. Yes, I am aware that I have contradicted myself in points one and two, but ultimately, rules are never that hard and fast.

 

3 What do you plan to do with your collection after you're "gone?" In the event of your death, would you like your loved ones to be taken advantage of by a dealer, collector, or other unscrupulous individual who tried to buy your lifelong coin collection for a song?

 

4. In such a case, grading, or AT LEAST a thorough inventory of your coins for value (or estimated value) is CRITICAL. Coin insurance carriers may find serial numbers matching with graded coins more easy to assign a value. This should be done not only for those you may leave behind, but in the event of a loss such as theft, fire, or other destruction.

 

5. This advice on coin inventory applies no matter WHAT your coin inventory may be" Modern, ancient, world, US, graded/raw, etc. For insurance and replacement value, peace of mind is terribly important and for those you wish to INHERIT a collection to also know the value.

 

6. Will OGP become rarer than slabbed? I don't know about that. However, I do suggest, as some here have mentioned, when getting ANY coins graded (commemoratives, bullion, proof sets, etc.), SAVE the OGP and COA. Why? If you decide to sell the coin, you adding to your sale the original OGP to your auction may set your action apart from others.

 

Some OGP comes in a FINE WOODEN BOX, recent examples are the First Spouse Coins as well as the 10th Anniversary Platinum Eagle coins, and I saw some people in this thread mention those specifically. Further, saving the COA can include pertinent details like MINTAGE LIMITS, mintage location, quantity of a precious metal in a coin, and with today's metal markets surging, it helps to point out how much MELT VALUE ALONE is in a coin.

 

Sometimes, OGP also make for NICE GIFT BOXES. Say you have a slabbed Silver American Eagle, Early Releases for 2008. You have a friend who gave birth in 2008, I like giving a Silver Eagle to new moms/dads for their babies. Well, it's sort of nice to put the slab into the ORIGINAL blue box from the Mint. OK, you remove the inner case where the coin would have been, but it's still a nice box that looks "official."

 

7. Grading commemoratives allows you to participate in the various NGC Registry Sets for commemorative coins.

 

Just some ideas.

 

As for DISADVANTAGES of not keeping a coin in the OGP:

 

1. If your coin grades poorly, it may make it undesirable on the secondary market. Thus, it's pretty much YOURS to KEEP. MS/PF 69/70 are pretty much what people want. There are a few coins that people will take even if grades lower, but these are the exception, rather than the rule. This is more uniquely true of "Modern" collectors.

 

2. Removing a coin from the OGP, possibly damaging the coin, if done incorrectly before submitting to NGC (or other TPGs). Rule of thumb at NGC: Do NOT remove from MINT CAPSULE.