I'm not having the best of luck with these, I've a bull and a unicorn 1/4 oz gold, and 2 platinum 1oz unicorns, all have scratches (from new) to varying degrees Looking around online I see plenty of others with similar issues, and know of the mints standard "its just a bullion coin reply" Why make a great design then damage it before customers receive it? My favorite design at the moment and I would have collected more of these but I think I'll give up :'(
Some scratches are inflicted at the mint or whatever outsourced third party packing company. Another issue is cherry picking by the dealer that sends coins for grading and sell graded coins at a much higher price. I will avoid any dealer that also sells graded QB coins. Other than buying graded coins, the only solution is to walk in and ask to see the coins before purchasing. I do this for almost all my QB purchases other than 10oz which I buy from overseas. Some dealers might refuse to show you more than 2-3 coins, or they may seal the coins into plastic capsules that are usually scratched, making it difficult to know whether the coin itself is scratched. An advantage I have in Singapore is graded coins are subject to 7% GST so dealers are less likely to cherry pick. Recently, I saw a stacker youtube video that says QB gold coins boughtly directly from RM are of a better quality and they come sealed in a capsule. This might be another way to get better coins, but RM charges a slightly higher premium than dealers.
I'm in country queensland Australia, only dealers I know who stock these are in different states so there is no walk in option. I've got a decent collection of gold pandas for example, simple packaging, bullion coins, none have ever arrived scratched up. Royal Mint now its 4 from just 4
