Boxes and Envelopes

I am just getting started selling some coins on eBay and have been
looking at auctions to get an idea of what they should go for. While
looking through the coins I have seen a lot of sales for boxes and
envelopes and the COA on proof and mint sets. Some say that they are for
your use if you have worn ones. And I have seen the selling of the coin
holders as well. Does this selling really go to people who just want a
better box or am I correct in thinking that there may be some other use
for them? Some of these coinless items are going for real money.
Just wondering what the general thoughts were about this practice.
Thanks, Bruce

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 05:17:01 GMT, Bruce Farley
wrote:

I am just getting started selling some coins on eBay and have been
looking at auctions to get an idea of what they should go for. While
looking through the coins I have seen a lot of sales for boxes and
envelopes and the COA on proof and mint sets...

Bruce, the increase in the number of proof sets being broken open is
driving the sale of these things. The coin market is starting to look
like the Shop-at-Home network, with all the modern proofs and bullions
in slabs. Only a few years ago, coin collectors scoffed at the idea. I
don't know how most people feel now. I personally find it a boring
practice of jacking prices for bullion. The only practical purpose I
see is that it preserves the quality of coins, but then so do acetate
cases and Air-tites. But there is a lot of money now in bullion and
proofs that grade high, so there are a lot of ophaned cases and rolls
of proofs that weren't good enough to submit to graders. (I also have
to add that silver and gold of the olden days are the the old coins we
love to collect today, so maybe sellers of slabbed bullion are a step
ahead of other people.)

The COA is usually sold with these empty boxes. Anything could be put
in the boxes and sold with the COA. The boxes would be useful to
someone who destroyed the acetate cases when cracking coins out. I
would hope that a dealer wouldn't try to pass off a case that has been
opened as an unaltered mint set.

I like that NGC will grade a mint set intact. I don't know how this
works -- is the average grade of coins considered? -- but I think it
is an excellent idea.

Anita