Hi, What is the difference between the loose Lunar Dragon coins and the ones with this ANA coin show special edition boxed coins? I mean, exactly these White Dragons. Besides the box, they also have a small certificate with a unique numerical code: I mean: the coins - the coins themselves, are they different from the other loose non-special edition variants? I can't see a bit of a difference. The box, the certificate is a plus, but the coins seem to be the same.
yeah, I think that's what sucked bad about that year. overkill on dragon mania. I really don't believe there was a difference between COA and lose. I havve the black dragon, and the same thing applied.
As far as I can tell there is no difference between the coins in the boxed sets and the loose versions. From what I could tell, other than the red versions, the coloured versions that are on the market are just the 9 coin sets which didn't sell so were broken up into singles. I have the 9 coin set and the show coins and I did have a look but not much of an in-depth study.
Here's one that's slabbed - and the slab too states it's an 'ANA special'. Although, to me (still) the coin looks identical:
I noticed a difference. I don't know if it's a real difference between the coins or something to do with tarnish or the way the coins have been stored. The boxed "special edition" coin has a dragon with a more vivid strong blue colour. While, the loose ones I saw has a slightly yellowish (just slightly) light blue tone. See on the photo below... THE COIN ON THE LEFT HAS THAT STRONG FRESH BLUE APPEARANCE... Then, on the right, the boxed coin HAS THAT SLIGHTLY TARNISHED YELLOWISH LOOK In reality, the boxed coins have that strong blue look and the loose ones have that tarnish-feel tone. It might as well be caused by tarnish. Or... Perth Mint manufactured coins with slightly different tone?
Hard to know isn't it? If they made them all in one batch then there shouldn't be much of a colour variation between the two. But if they made them in separate batches then maybe the inks had to be changed or they were running out. Maybe the inks fade as they get older, maybe some were stored in a different environment and it has affected the colours.
I don't know, but perhaps the fresh blue one might be a bit rarer? The yellowish-greenish one might be a bit more abundant. At least, from what I've seen. It's not just the photos, I mean: the real coins, they themselves have different tone. More images, to make the difference more obvious: The vivid, darker blue version: The yellowish-greenish variant: Even though the second one is an illustration, not a photo, in reality the tone is similar. What I don't know is... ...whether the difference noticed is between the boxed special edition coins and the loose ones or... ...whether some were made with certain ink and others with different ink or... ...whether the tone difference is due to tarnish or storage conditions or... ...whether some are "defect" I reckon the rarer ones have the potential of higher price in the future.
I have two ANDA-MEL coins and had compared them with one bullion yellow dragon coin. Actually all three coins looks similar on colour and ANDA-MEL coins appeared slightly lighter. However the difference less than 1%, so I think they are the "same".