Us Mint Proof coins 1 1

[John Rac]

I have many American Eagle-proof sets From the U.S. Mint and several 2023 Morgan and Peace dollars from the U.S. Mint in airtight capsules. all in their separate boxes. Should I open them up and send them for grading?

[Hoghead515]

If it were me I would keep them in the original government packaging. 

[Coinbuf]

On 9/25/2023 at 2:17 PM, John Rac said:

I have many American Eagle-proof sets From the U.S. Mint and several 2023 Morgan and Peace dollars from the U.S. Mint in airtight capsules. all in their separate boxes. Should I open them up and send them for grading?

Welcome to the forum, there is no "right" answer to your question, but if we knew your motivation for wanting to send these for grading that would provide some context and better answers.   Some collectors prefer the coins as they came from the mint, and others want them graded to use in registry sets.   The problem for you is that any that grade less than PR70 DCAM will be significantly discounted if you try and sell them.   So, if your goal is to sell these coins, and you receive a high percentage of PF70 DCAM grades , then it is possible that you could sell them for a higher price (in cumulative) than if sold in the mint packaging.    But if you get a high percentage of PF69 DCAM or lower then you will likely be in the red after all the costs are accounted for.

If you are keeping the coins (and don't want them for a registry set) then there is no reason to spend the monies to have them graded, the mint packaging is more than sufficient to protect the coins as long as you are doing your part with good storage procedures.

[RWB]

Every time an original capsule is opened it increases the opportunity for surface contamination -- especially for proof coins. What do you expect to gain by spending $50 per coin for TPGs to tell you what you already know?

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.

   As one who has collected coins for over fifty years and has been buying collectors' issues from the U.S. Mint since 1975, I continue to be befuddled by the preoccupation of contemporary collectors with breaking such issues out of their usually attractive mint sealed packaging, which accounted for part of the mint issue price, and submitting them to grading services to see whether any of them receive a grade of "70", a concocted grade (no flaws visible under low magnification) that, in my opinion, is just a marketing gimmick.  Not only are such coins protected by the mint packaging but can be much more compactly stored, especially those in capsules, than in heavy, bulky grading service holders.

   If this trend continues, the coins that remain in their original packaging will become scarce and may someday sell for a premium over those in grading service holders.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Sandon

[Mr.Bill347]

John welcome to the forum. Your question is one that is often asked. Proof coins are all as perfect as can be in a production environment. However, it has been said that 80% of proof coins do not qualify as MS70. The cost to grade each coin will not yield a profit and can be up to $30-40 a coin. I collect proof sets and have managed to have a set from 1954-2023. It is important to note, US mint proof lenses are not sealed, and they will allow contaminates in the air to degrade or tone coins. That is why it is imperative to store proof sets correctly in specific boxes designed to counteract contaminates. The lenses should be considered dust and fingerprint protectors. There a a lot of collectors breaking apart proof sets and selling the proof coins individually, which if your end result is to profit from your proof sets, it may be the best way to go. I will buy these individual proof coins to complete an album from time to time. The other drawback is you cannot list ungraded proof sets in the registry. I know the TPGs used to grade entire sets, but I am unsure if they still do it.

[Mr.Bill347]

As Sandon stated, some older proof sets do command a higher price. 2010, 2012, and 2021 to name a few. The 1954 set cost me $60.