American Eagle Congratulations Set: Anger at the Dealer in the Mirror

The face of collecting is changing. And it is not pretty. Collectors are angry and demanding rare coins as if they are entitled to them.

Coin World magazine just reported a sellout of the newest American Eagles – a Congratulations Set (whatever!) that contains a proof 2017-S piece. Nearly 75,000 sets were sold in about 120 seconds.

And collectors are MAD! They want rare coins, and they expect to get one on the cheap. Or two. Or three. But most of them said that they just wanted one. Yea, right!

Big shiny coins, fresh from the press – what’s the big deal, why are they crying?

All American Coin: Including the part about exclusive access.
My advice: Go out and collect something fun.
And collect on your own terms -- be creative.

These coins will always be available. They will always be slabbed (or contained within some sort of protective holder), and most will grade MS69 or MS70. After a nuclear war, these coins will be all that remains – still shiny – along with the roaches and plastic water bottles.

The rare Eagles look like all the other Eagles (except for the tiny S mintmark). But, that S doesn’t have a story to tell. In this case, it is just an S.

So why are they crying? They are crying because they are hoodwinked into thinking that coin collecting is about buying low and selling high.

They are crying because they have been brainwashed into thinking that coin collecting is about having one from each mint. (Yes, you read that correctly, old Mister Heaton did us a disservice). Set collecting according to a formula is boring -- particularly in the modern age. And, P-D-S-W collecting is boring on ahistoric Eagles.

Now, there is nothing wrong with Eagles. They are pretty enough. Shiny. Big and heavy. All American.

But let’s be real, collecting American Eagles is a bit like painting by the numbers. And, there is nothing wrong with that either ... except when people get MAD.

Collecting new US Mint Products is like playing the lottery. Except that folks get MAD when they don’t win. They demand fairness. “I work hard.” “I have been collecting for years.” “I’m a true collector.” “I help the elderly cross busy streets.” This is what they say.

But not everyone gets to have a rare coin – as least not at the issue price. Isn’t this what defines a rare coin? Besides, $200 on EBay is not so bad.

I suppose the US Mint could have put household ordering limits on the Congratulations Set. But, folks would still complain (because everyone is a dealer in these circumstances -- some would have bought two or three or more in order to make a profit). Coin Hogs.

It is no wonder that the rising generation is not interested in coins. All they see is a bunch of tired collectors complaining about not making a buck. And, if not complaining about Eagles, then they complain about grading, pricing, and so on – all the things that don’t matter.