When buying US Mint proof coins, what is the most common grading?

March 11, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Investing In Silver Proof Coins: 

Say I want to buy a Golden or Silver Eagle, ordered straight from the US Mint's website. What is the likelyhood that the coin will be PR-69 or PR-70 ???

Do I need to buy "First Strike" coins to guarantee this kind of grading? I'd be very disappointed if I spent that much on a collectible, and it turned out to only be PR-65.
Upon a little more research, I found out that NGC listed a census of all the coins they have graded. It appears that a proof coin, graded below PR69 is pretty rare (maybe 1 out of a thousand).

http://www.ngccoin.com/poplookup/

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Comments

One Comment on When buying US Mint proof coins, what is the most common grading?

  1. Taiping on Thu, 11th Mar 2010 9:00 pm

    2. There is always the chance of a coin from the mint being in a PR-65. These days that is highly unlikely, but a possibility. Also it is possible to get a PR-65 first strike coin. I would say that the first strike coins may have a better strike, for the die has not worn down, but that does not mean other things can not happen, such as marks on the coin. I do not collect very much modern coins, but do have some nice commemorative coins from the mint as well as a run of proof sets. I have noticed the quality rise over the years from 1950 to 2007. I myself would never pay more for a first strike coin. I think it is a gimmick. One thing to remember, it will take quite a while to get your money back buying bullion coins. Another is, a grade given by a grading service is their opinion and they can be wrong. Sorry I could not answer your question with a yes they will be PR-69,70. In most likely hood they should be.

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