Bucket of Coins

I just received confirmation that my set has been shipped. I am anxious to receive them.  Everyone seems to be selling theirs 5 ounce America The Beuatiful Silver coins on different sites but for not as much as in December and the first part of January. Appears several people are dumping at lower prices just to move them which has caused an adjustment for other sellers to modify and lower their prices. 

Me? I am not worried about prices of these silver coins. They are a low mintage silver coin set and they will always command a higher price due to their silver content and rarity. I am happy to get my set for my enjoyment. I can say I am not going to sell mine and I am a happy man to be the coin custodian for these big ole 5 oz silver bullion coins. 

Now one has to start thinking about 2011 sets, will there be as many or more produced? Will the Mint sell them from their own site next time? What will silver be trading for when they come out? Time will tell, I am sure the Mint learned something from this mess and it will be smoother over the next runs of the 5 oz America the Beautiful Silver coins sets!

January 18th has come and passed. I was able to get my order in for a set of the 5 ounce America The Beautiful Silver Quarters for 2010 issues. I understand the ones A Mark had will be encapsulated and certified as “First Strike Choice BU” by PCGS. I would preferred mine be actually given an MS grade rather than a generic “Choice BU” but I guess it will keep them safe until I have time to inspect them; after all they are “Bullion” coins. If any of them look really good I may send them back for a MS grade. As far as the price I was fine with the $875.33 but the $99 shipping seemed quite high since a flat rate box from the USPS is $11.95 up to 70 pounds.  I’ll post photos once I receive them in “6 to 8 weeks”.

I was tempted to order through another distributor of the 5 ounce America The Beautiful Silver Quarters but they were doing a mail order only. You had to send in a check via snail mail and wait. I was wondering if having nearly $1,000 tied up in something they may or may not happen was a good idea, but when I found out I could get in on the Lottery online, it was a no-brainer.  I have become an instant gratification man as I have gotten older and as technology has developed. Another thing that was kind of odd was the mail order form stated the 5 ounce America The Beautiful Silver Quarters could be scratch, finger printed, scuffed and a whole laundry list of other scary words coin collectors do not like to hear!

It appears a few other distributors are going to be offering their allotment of the 5 ounce America The Beautiful Silver Quarters next month, so I may try to get another set via some relatives and cherry pick the ones I want and let the others go to other collectors whom were not as fortunate as a certain Cable shopping channel to get 250 sets (such nonsense!).  I sincerely hope everyone who wants a set gets one, they are truly nice looking and the first edition of any series usually has the lowest mintage and retain their collectibility longer than the rest of the series. Just a little something for those of you who are hesitating on taking the plunge to chew on…Food for thought!

I spoke to a salesman representing APMEX at the Affiliate Summit West this week in Las Vegas. He said it’s more of a mess and not as clear cut as media and Mint have made it sound. He said it is really convoluted and that they wish they never got involved with it. They had planned on selling them as a bullion coin set similar to the Silver, Gold, and Platinum American Eagles. There issues is basically the secondary market is allowed to make a huge profit while the distributors are not allowed to make anything over a predetermined amount. It doesn’t really seem that fair that the distributors of the 5 ounce America the Beautiful Silver Quarters can’t charge a premium for their sets. The salesman I spoke with said they were going to charge $1150 for a set, even though on other venues they are asking over four times that amount. He also said what the US Mint has done is made a collectible rarity with a bullion item and with the silver market being so enticing right now supply doesn’t meet the demand.  Other countries have been producing 5 and 10 ounce silver coins for years! I am just hoping I can get a set, if I do I will post it here! America continues to wait…

UPDATE: Looks like AMARK is going to the 5 coin set on sale on January 18th, at 1 PM est.  I plan on doing my darnedest to get a set! Good luck to everyone who tries!

As the world awaits the availability of the 2010 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins also referred to as 5 oz America the Beautiful Silver quarter sets, to go on sale this month. One has to ask what is the fairest way to ensure the collector gets a shot at them.  I have been on all the named “distributors” websites and some have something about reviewing the “rules set by the Mint” while others have nothing about these coins. Several home shopping and auction sites are already selling the five coins for upwards of $5,000! It appears when they are officially offered to the general public, the cost will be under $900 for the five.  The biggest dilemma I see is there is no consistency of when these distributors are going to put them on sale. Today, January 3rd, was to be the anticipated release which had been communicated, now it appears some are saying it will be the middle of the month before they make them available. So unless you constantly check the distributor’s sites you may miss your opportunity to acquire one of the 33,000 sets. I’m not greedy, I just want one for my collection but I am not willing to pay $5,000 for a set of over-sized quarters even if they are made of silver.

I have seen that some people had pre-ordered and have received their sets already. To me, I think the Mint should do like they do everything else…sell them from their site and cut out the middle man! It shouldn’t take long for them to sell out and at least there would be some semblance of fairness with a set time for release.  So here I sit with the rest of America, wondering if I will be able to get a set. Wish me luck, as I do to all the other coin collectors out there!