New Limited Eagle Sets To Come...

Lets clear some things up. First, they did not have those sets before they were put up for sale. They got them the same time everyone else did. They simply had/have a system already set to process their sets faster. The sales that were done the next day were pre sales based on what they picked up and average percentages of grades of ASEs sent in. This isn't an Oliver Stone movie folks. Nothing nefarious. Its called business. And to say capitalism means rich getting richer shows your small view of a large world. Educate yourself beyond CNN.

As I said, we got the 25th set. We got every puck we went after. if I had the money I can guarantee there would be a pic just like that of me. I have enough friends that could have done the exact same thing. And I can almost guarantee that every last person here would have done the exact same if they had the resources. I sold my set for 690.00 and added plenty of other coins to my collection. We still have VACookeys set.

Quit whining about secondary markets. If you dont like it, dont participate...or learn how to hit re dial faster.

Its not bullion, they are coins. And even if you want to hide behind the its all bullion argument, supply and demand still applies. They supplied an item and it was snagged up. OBVIOUSLY, if it were just bullion, the sets would not have sold out in 5 hours now would they? Given the volume of calls, and the absolutely deafening volume of the whining and complaining from all fronts, if they had minted 500,000 sets it still would have been a one day sell out.

Again, you do not HAVE to buy everything they put out. And just how is any other set going to do anything to the 20th or 25th sets? If they minted a trillion sets in the next 5 years, that would not change the numbers of the other sets. Still only 250,000 and 100,000. So if anything, it would increase the value because those sets would be even more of a rarity.

That applies to the "buulion" coins that are in the green monster boxes. It does NOT apply to all the other ASEs made. Those are collectors coins and the ones being discussed in this thread. I would still make an argument that the "bullion" coins are more than that, but that is a whole other discussion.

I got the survey a few days ago but I just took it now. I like the idea of a ultra high relief silver eagle and I think the reverse proof is a beautiful coin also. But I said the mint should limit the "special" set to one per year, at most. Too often and it is no longer special. Just sayin.

I didn't get the survey, but I'd be thrilled if they issued a new Reverse Proof ASE every year with limited quantities available. You know, five million of all the regular ASEs and only 100,000 of the Reverse Proofs.

I don't really care about all the gimmicks (oooh... a regular bullion coin, but with a mint mark!) and I am sickened by all the shenanigans by the grading companies ("first strike," "early release," "25th Anniversary Set") to make otherwise common ASEs seem "special." But I really feel that the reverse Proof ASE is one of the most beautiful coins ever minted and I'd lvoe the opportunity to own more of them at a reasonable price. Having them be limited in quantities makes them more exciting to own, I suppose, but I'd buy them even if they made 5 million per year.

Me too, if I could only afford the 1995 w to complete my set!

Every time I have been skunked on getting tickets for a concert I wanted to go to, I simply cursed and then bought my ticket from one of those evil capitalist pigs that managed to dial quicker than me. It happens.

Everyone wants to be able to get a coin that becomes valuable, but God forbid they make a limited amount. THATS what makes them valuable in the first place. And also dictates that you may have to pay a premium to get it. If it was easy for every last person to get one, there wouldnt be a premium and likely never would be. Which would then make the coin of no interest to you. Cant have it both ways.

Barry, again, if you dont find those designations to be special, then just dont buy them. How is it that the companies offering something that is obviously wanted by a lot of people a sickening act? Again, supply and demand. Do you think these companies would be offering these things if people didnt want them and were not buying them? No one forces anyone to buy them. Again, good old capitalism at work.

The Mint, it seems, is really focusing on turning a profit and riding out the ASE mania in recent years.

On one hand, that's a great thing: A government agency that's not -- as it were -- leaking money. (See what I did there? :-) )

On the other hand, some things they seem to be doing are "just because," and a lot of serious collectors will get offended as these decisions seem frivolous and excessive. (I tend to fall closer to the "It's frivolous" camp, myself, and I've been collecting ASEs since their inception originally with my late grandfather).

Since they make the blasted things they can control their rarity, and when things are sold as "sets" the impulse we (for lack of a better word) "orderly" human beings feel is the need to keep things intact. It's the same drive to fill all holes in a series album, only now there are suddenly more than expected.

The same thing happens in reverse, too. I for one feel irked that there's no 2009 proof, so there will forever be a hole in my set of proofs, and I have actually found myself pondering a Moonlight Mint overstrike--- which is ridiculous! I have the visceral impulse to purchase an impostor, and it's that visceral impulse that has allowed MM to sell so many of them!

So yes, in a sense, what the Mint is doing is that it's taking advantage of the nature of a collector to manipulate them into purchases that they would not have made otherwise. That's what's offensive.

It's one thing to offer round number commemorative sets as a "we've got this far" celebration, or some sort of traditional "next step" pieces (for example, I would love to see an ultra-high-relief ASE, simply because I intrinsically enjoy high-relief coinage), but churning out "special" sets every year only does one thing: It dilutes anything special about it.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Because of the long-term effect of ruining the hobby.

Much of the demand is for the wrong reason -- people buying them to make a quick profit. Then the guy who bought his to keep is forced to sell for some reason, and can only get half of issue price.