On the road to normalizing

Frustration with an inability to buy one of the new sets of 5-ounce America the Beautiful silver bullion coins is slowly giving way to routine collector attitudes.

I have had reports of deliveries of the coins. I have had a complaint that one of the Authorized Purchasers wasn’t delivering his confirmed order fast enough.

The telephone caller told me he has waited two weeks.

He asked me if it was a scam.

My response was to ask how it could be a scam if it is one of the Authorized Purchasers he was dealing with.

I told him he would probably get his coins, but he could check.

He wanted to talk to them but the firm was not taking calls.

I reminded him that most of the AP’s were not geared to handle retail transactions and if he wanted to communicate with them, he should do it in the same manner as he had placed his order. He could also check with his bank to see if his check was cashed.

Another reader gave his newly delivered set the once over and thought that doubling that he found in the incuse lettering meant the coin was a doubled die.

After it was examined by error authority Ken Potter, it was determined that it was not a doubled die, which is the term for doubling that is actually on the die that is used to strike the coin.

The doubling was of the strike doubling kind, also called the machine doubling damage, which error collectors dismiss.

In short, collectors are getting back to doing what they always do and the America the Beautiful coins have started on their way to becoming just another coin set.