Hello New Member Here Question About American Silver Eagles

I wouldn't waste my money on graded proofs. 99.9 percent of proofs are going to grade PF69 or 70 anyway so I don't see the sense in paying another $20 just to have a coin graded when you already know what the coin will grade.

Half the fun is in the hunt for each coin in my opinion. If I were you, and I'm sure we'll get varying opinions on this, I would buy ungraded proofs and put them in a nice Dansco album or something along those lines. To me it would be more satisfying and eye appealing to see your Silver Eagle Proof Set in a nice album rather than in pieces of plastic (although I do have some pricier coins in PCGS/NGC slabs) that make it hard to view the whole shebang at once.

What do you think is a good price for the 2011-p Reverse Proof
PCGS PR70 First Strike

Many of us like the up close and personal relationship with a raw coin. Mitch is correct that most proofs from the mint should be 69 or 70. But, a number of those 69 and 70's will still not satisfy me. Many will have spots which will not prevent it from obtaining a 69 or 70 grade especially with the huge number going to TPGs.

All of the proofs are still around to be had. Look at as many with good photos as possible and you'll see what I mean. Or, visit a coin store with a loop. So then it depends on what you want in your collection. I have both raw and slabbed. A raw coin will still give you a sense the slabbed ones don't.

Best of luck in your purchases.

At one time, PCGS was reluctant to grade a silver eagle at a 70 because of the high probability of the appearance of "milk spots," even after being encapsulated. So yes, coins can get a high grade and then develop milk spots but it is also possible that PCGS will honor their grading guarantee and rectify the situation.

Why would anyone ever open the coin after being graded

Many collectors do that, the percentage I do not know. Personal preference has a lot, if not all, to do with it. I can certainly understand their decision and to each their own.

Take the ASE for instance, if your collection was made up of raw, NGC and PCGS graded coins, how are you going to store them, how are you going to protect them, do you want to be able to show them off, and in what manner will they present the best? All valid questions a collector ponders and will even change over their collecting lives.

Why does someone even collect them? For their numismatic value, beauty, investment...? If I collected my ASE's for their beauty for example, and have hand selected each and everyone, and have no intention of ever selling, does a slab mean anything to me if I know it has been graded a 69 or 70? All I care about is for each and every issuance I am very satisfied that particular coin is the one I want for my collection.

So for presentation purposes and storage, I might crack all the slabs and put them in a nice Dansco or other storage median.

Personal preference is the key. I did not mean to ramble on.

To put it in my album.

I have yet to do so, but the only two reasons why I would buy a graded coin are authentication and availability (the number of raw key dates seems to be steadily decreasing).