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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,506 |
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New Member
United States
3 Posts |
I am new to buying and collecting coins and just made my first purchase from the United States Mint. I wanted something that would hold some value to protect against inflation and be a good investment. I purchased the 1 ounce American Eagle gold proof coin for $1810 on the first day it became available and it finally arrived this week. When I opened to box to look at the coin I was impressed with the shiny finish and the fine detail. However when I looked closer I noticed what may be a dust spot on the upper left surface and a tiny curved piece of dust or scratch just to the left of the branch that is visible without any magnification. There is also a spot on the back of the coin. Is this normal to have some spots or should I return the coin and try to get another one without any defects? I read on the US Mint website that this is possible seven days after receiving it. My concern is that this may be normal and a replacement coin may look worse. This has been a major investment for me and want to be sure I am doing the right thing.
What is the best way to handle and store the coin? I know you should not remove it from the case. I was carefully wiping the back of the plastic case it is in with an eyeglass cleaning cloth to remove any dust and now notice what may be a new spot on the back of the coin.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
You can keep returning them until you get one that youre happy with. So you dont have to worry about being stuck with the replacement if you dont like that one either. At some point if you keep getting bad ones I would just return it for a refund and go find one elsewhere that I can see before I buy that I like. Usually though 1 return is all it takes from the mint.
If theyre spots on it I would return it without hesitation especially a gold coin like that.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2661 Posts |
Personally, I would return it and invest the money in classic gold coins that have numismatic value. The price you paid is nearly $500 over melt for a bullion round. But that is just my opinion.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2311 Posts |
If you enjoy the coin, I would return it for a new one. Don't be expecting to make easy money off it. It could take five years till you could make some money from it.
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New Member
 United States
3 Posts |
Thank you. I will return it and consider asking for an exchange. I have posted a picture of it below - it is a nice coin though expensive. I thought that American Eagle coins were numismatic coins. At least that is what I was told by an online precious metal/coin seller.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
There are bullion versions of that coin, but the proof version you have is in fact a numismatic coin
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1817 Posts |
Definitely return even it's ok, it's $50 cheaper now than when you bought it. Depending if gold stays below $1400, might even go down another $50 to $1710 by Wednesday morning. Sometimes scratches on the holder may show up clearly on the mirrored fields of proof coins, also any light spotting or hazing on the case will also show clearly on a proof. There's no way to really tell unless you carefully remove the coin from the holder wearing a clean pair of lint free gloves.
Also the return window is generally seven days from the time the coin was delivered, not when you pick it up, so act quickly if you are going to perform a return.
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New Member
United States
3 Posts |
Thank you again for the suggestions and the idea of checking the cover. I called the US Mint and was given two options - ask for a full refund, pay to send it back and postage to have a new one delivered and wait up to 8 weeks for a refund or do an exchange and they would reimburse for all postage. If I sent it back it I would not get a first strike coin in exchange. I decided that since I would probably be returning it I carefully eased the case open using small tools and found that the coin was undamaged - what I saw was dust on the inside of the cover. I did not touch the coin and carefully removed the dust (had to do twice) using a camels hair brush and lint free cloth I use for my photography equipment. I called the US Mint back and asked them to send a packing receipt for a first strike coin that was missing with my shipment. I also suggested they recheck their process to ensure the coins are packed in a dust free environment.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1817 Posts |
The Mint typically will exchange "defective" coins and reimburse you for postage. Exchanges work this way: they credit you the amount of the return, and charge you again when the new item is sent. Sometimes this works if the PM price has dropped, sometimes not. If I think the item will go up in the weekly cycle (typically 9:00 am EST on Wednesdays), I might order two the same gold or platinum item and return one after inspecting the pair of coins, particularly if there were production issues with the coin. West Point and San Francisco minted coins typically are flawless, but neither facility has "clean rooms" in their packaging department, so the lint problem inside sealed items will always persist.
I had an overpolished MacArthur unc comm that looked like poor quality control and simply returned it last month. The refund took about a week to process and show back up on my c.c., FYI. I have never had a return that took 8 weeks to process, that might be true for a customer that paid by check. But generally, they are efficient handling returns. Btw, congratulations on your first big purchase from the mint, that AGE would be the envy of any collector's collection.
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Pillar of the Community
917 Posts |
"First Strike" Is a scam in my book. Also as far as I know the only way to get a First Strike designation when you send it to a TPG is to send in a whole sealed monster box. So don't assume that its worth more just because you ordered it the first day it was available. |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote: Also as far as I know the only way to get a First Strike designation when you send it to a TPG is to send in a whole sealed monster box. First strike has nothing to do with monster boxes, your thinking of thr (S) or (W) designation on the bullion ASEs |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,506 |
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Posted 05/18/2013 1:21 pm
