I have read remarks like the following in many different forms in different forums; "2013 Reverse proof buffalo 1oz Ag. Ordered within few minutes of opening sale" accompanied by the forum member being confused why such coins don't predictably get graded 68, 69, or 70 by a TPG company while still getting the "First Strike" (or similar) designation emblazoned on the label. I feel it's important for stackers and coin collectors to understand about "First Strike". If you are buying at the earliest possible release date from a mint, more than likely you are getting coins / rounds that have been struck by worn dies that have already struck thousands of coins/rounds (multiples of times for proof finishes). That's due to logistics. The earliest struck coins are placed on the shelves first and all subsequent coins on top. So the actual first struck coins are all the way at the bottom of the stacks. You almost guaranttee yourself to not get a true first strike coin when ordering the earliest. The PCGS labels proclaiming "First Strike" are completely misleading because it's insinuating that those coins labelled as such were the one's the mint struck first, but there's no way PCGS can know which coins were struck first...only which were shipped out by the mint first. I avoid buying any slabbed items with this designation because I don't want to pay for a premium that really means nothing special about the coin inside. It's a marketing gimmick designed to rake in big $$$ every year by a TPG company that uses such misleading labeling practices. .
^ No mint that I'm aware of will do that...even in a fantasy dream. Even with serially numbered COA limited edition coins, I'm convinced that a mint is not going to take the time to ensure that sequentially, the first, then next after that, and next after that, and so on will be matched precisely to sequential COA's. Way too labor intensive in actuality. No, instead, they would much more likely press, put in a capsule, and then stack a whole bunch of coins then grab capsuled coins from the top of that stack, grab a COA starting from #1 and working sequentially up and place it and the coin in a box. This basically ensures that the first coins actually struck DO NOT get the lowest COA's. It's all about logistics. The only coins that you may actually know are sequentially accurate in regards to actual striking sequence to match COA number are 1) very low mintage (under 150-200 minted) extra large coins, like 10 kilo coins and 2) those rare coin issues where each individual coin is serially numbered on the coin itself, not on any COA or packaging. I do not know the manufacturing process for such exclusive coins but it's possible that they are handled differently from all other minted coins except the 10 kilo very limited mintage coins. Bottom line, TPG co's "First Strike" designations are a bunch of misleading marketing rubbish. Why is this important to know? Because you shouldn't get fooled into paying an extra premium of those slabs which happen to have a "First Strike" label on them...you are paying only for the TPG's dishonest gimmick. .
First Strike Coins - A Marketing Goldmine Learn What a First Strike Coin Really Is (and Isn't) By A. C. Dwyer, Owner of the Arlington Collection What exactly is a "First Strike?" In general, a third party grading service gives a "First Strike" designation to those coins packaged for shipment from the U.S. Mint within a month of their official release date. For Mint State coins, the cutoff is basically January 31 of each year. Proof coins are based on the announced release date. All coins must be submitted with their original Mint shipment packaging with accompanying documents indicating they were packaged for shipment from the U.S. Mint within the first month of their official release. The key words here are that the coins must have been packaged for shipment from the U.S. Mint within the first month of their official release. It has nothing to do with the date of striking other than they obviously were struck before they were packaged and shipped, which is, of course, true of all coins! So, the "First Strike" designation is nothing more than a marketing program based on the principle that collectors have always sought out coins of special significance, and one way that a coin can be distinguished from another is by the date that it was struck. The perception being given by the "First Strike" designation is that somehow these coins were struck first, or at least early, in production.
Right, the fact that coins shipped first says nothing special about the actual coins themselves but the TPG co's want people to believe something very different; it's exactly the underhanded reason they chose the term "First Strike" instead of what they really are "First Sent" which means nothing in terms of quality of the coins themselves. Marketing gimmick. Coin buyers shouldn't pay any premium for such a misleading label and let those suckers who pay the extra $18 per coin for such a designation learn a lesson that will spare everyone including themselves. .
Good point missinglink. Never thought of that. I do agree with Trew too... everyone else in the world seems to be relying on the old 'Mark 1 eye-ball' to judge the quality of a coin.
Probably true, except that for a growing number of different coins which are being faked with increasingly higher quality reproductions, grading companies may serve an increasingly more important role for a growing number of people...I think. Besides, for those who cherish near perfect quality, the TPG companies may be the best (not perfect) objective way to reliably know which coins possess that level of quality. .
^ Totally understood. I occasionally buy graded coins for varying reasons. To me, it's like paying to hav an engineer check out a house before laying down good money on one. Where I draw the line would be paying an engineer to tell me that there is no better engineer available anywhere in the world and because this is what he asserts then I have to pay him extra for saying that. He can't possibly know if this is true and it's totally misleading.misleading and frankly bogus. Same goes for "First Strike" label....bunch of overpriced nonsense. I would pay a good premium for a MS70/PR70 graded coin from a reputable TPG if I really wanted such a coin....that's a real criteria-based judgement. Nice PR70 Gold Buff Rev CMCART! .
