Proxy Buyers Clog Line At Denver Mint

The Mint is hyping the wrong coin, IMO. The gold will easily surpass 100,000 coins I think. They are not in business to create intentional or unintentional rarities, but to maximize their bottom line. They haven't figured out the exact sales formula that will please everyone but they are getting there in appealing to the masses via word of mouth, the hobby press and social media. However with most things the market will drive how these coins are received in the marketplace. It's over hyped and the frenzy surrounding it does not justify the numbers. Mint processes are so uniform now that there are very little differences between coin #1 and #100,000 of 100,000, except to the slabbed label chasers. Don't get me wrong, I think the coin is neat and worth having, just not the secondary markups uninformed people are willing to pay. The gold half might follow the trajectory of the RP Buffalo, which was just $400 more last year and can be acquired around issue price now.

I wonder if the hype is going to affect the set that counts, the 4 silver half dollars? People might be heartily sick of the coins and skip the third release because its cheaper and thus psychologically "not worth their time," even though the rewards might be greater. It depends when this set comes to market, whether the Mint can capitalize on the wave of hype or let it get lost in the shuffle when the secondary market returns aren't proving as great as people expected, yet the potential ROI is greater than for the gold. There are greater variables with this set, 4 higher relief coins from as many mints, any one of which can stop production if the quality of the strikes isn't there (think Denver Mint who is notorious for high speed coinage but poor to mediocre strikes), and the most idiotic of production issues, the reliable sourcing and delivery of the plastic boxes from China to deliver the coins in. IMO, the silver set should have appeared as a lead in to the final product of the gold half dollar. Silver Kennedy set now looking like it might be eclipsed by the gold frenzy which is good for us collectors. That said, the Mint should have 200,000 sets on hand ready to ship on the first day of sales, but I'm guessing they'll aim for 50,000. Won't be a total surprise if this set has long (3-4 month) backorder times just like the last of the BHOF silver dollars that are finally getting shipped now.

Do you have a mugshot of him?

I was told by a fellow club member that one fo the dealers from MI who has a standing table at our local WI club show every year had struck a deal with NGC of PCGS (I'm pretty sure it was NGC though) to make an exclusive label only for him and the coins he submitted.

If he is 5'5" W/M late 20's / early 30's with short brown hair and from MI that may be your suspect.