2014 P&d SP-69 50 Anniversary Kennedy Half Set. ** First Strike **

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First Strike Coins - A Marketing Goldmine

"First Strike" Marketing Genius

I don't know who first thought of the "First Strike" concept, but I'd like to congratulate the marketing genius who did. He or she managed to create a perception of value, for an otherwise ordinary coin, based on nothing more than when it was shipped from the U.S. Mint!

What exactly is a "First Strike?"

In general, a third party grading service gives a "First Strike" designation to those coins packaged for shipment from the U.S. Mint within a month of their official release date. For Mint State coins, the cutoff is basically January 31 of each year. Proof coins are based on the announced release date. All coins must be submitted with their original Mint shipment packaging with accompanying documents indicating they were packaged for shipment from the U.S. Mint within the first month of their official release.

The key words here are that the coins must have been packaged for shipment from the U.S. Mint within the first month of their official release. It has nothing to do with the date of striking other than they obviously were struck before they were packaged and shipped, which is, of course, true of all coins!

So, the "First Strike" designation is nothing more than a marketing program based on the principle that collectors have always sought out coins of special significance, and one way that a coin can be distinguished from another is by the date that it was struck. The perception being given by the "First Strike" designation is that somehow these coins were struck first, or at least early, in production.

Some "First Strike" Problems
The problem is that, during production, the U.S. Mint does not keep track of the order in which they mint coins. Also, the U.S. Mint usually begins production several weeks to several months before the coins are officially released. By the release dates for the 2005 and 2006 bullion coins, the U.S. Mint had already minted approximately 50% of the total projected mintage for these coins. The dates on shipping labels and packing slips do not necessarily correlate to the date of manufacture. This is all clearly stated on the U.S. Mint's website under Consumer Awareness.

I have also heard the argument that the "First Strike" designation somehow implies that the strike of the earlier coins is somehow better than those struck later. This might be true if the Mint only used one set of dies during production. Since dies constantly wear out and are being replaced in an ongoing cycle, this argument goes out the window. Also, from a purely objective standpoint, a coin graded First Strike MS69 is no better than a non-First Strike coin graded MS69, regardless of what day it was minted.

The Value of the "First Strike" Designation
There is no arguing the fact that coins with the "First Strike" designation are commanding a premium over their non-designated counterparts, so there is demand for this designation whether you think it makes sense or not. Third party grading services are profit oriented businesses and not charities set up to benefit the hobby. If there is a demand for this designation from collectors, then it is in their interest to supply that demand. Whether or not this demand stands the test of time is something that we will have to wait and see.

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The 1 of 999 doesn't mean anything either. It's a bulk submission with a special label (costs the big sellers a lot less to grade 100 or 1000 of the same coin, so the few cents extra charged for 'serial numbering' is meaningless) (as is the #).