Thanks for the replies so far . I am glad to hear you got two good sets Gary ! Did you order them from the mint ? If you did I guess you are pretty lucky. I get mine from my local dealer but they are still sealed.
After I got the first sealed one and the Philly coins were pretty bad, I returned it (not something I am prone to do ) and got another- pretty much the same results- kept that one. I cannot expect my dealer to keep giving me unopened sets for opened ones now can I! I did manage to pick a good one out of the display case- already opened- after a good one finally showed up in there.
The other sealed sets I have purchased over the last month or so have all been pretty much the same : Philly coins seem to have alot of "rub" on high spots and this really shows against the satin finish as shiny spots- very distracting IMHO. The Denver coins in 4 of the 5 sets are vastly superior , the 5th set is still nicer but not as nice as the others.
I did order some roll sets of Sac's and Kennedy's from the mint ( rip-off IMHO) Only because you can't get em ! The quality on both P and D coins was unbelievable , I am very conservative in my grading and I would estimate the average grade in those rolls to be MS-65. Some might even go 68 IMO. Now that was a nice suprise.
Don't forget to stock up on your 07-08 sac's since they suspended striking them for circulation . Not sure if this has been discussed here or not , but they are not going to strike the 1/3 mintage of sac's previously required, apparently the wording in the new reverse bill for 2009 supersedes the old one and they don't have to strike ANY for circulation until 2009 when the new reverse designs come out. I believe they will still be available in rolls from the mint but I am sure the mintage numbers will be significantly lower.I have a feeling (at least short term) this could make them slightly profitable. But then we're not in this for the money right ?