Mark Host Coins - FAQ

Is gold a good investment?

Mark Host — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:14:06 PST

I get this question a lot, mostly in terms of American Eagle or Buffalo bullion. My answer is always yes! but….

There is always a but, because it depends on several things, such as:

Your current financial situation (how much money you have to invest).
Your investment timeline (do you need the money in the next few years?).
The price of gold at the time (or Platinum, silver, palladium).
The current market cycle for the precious metal (and the overall financial market).
Which form of bullion you will buy (proof or bullion grade coins or ETF stocks).

Sometimes its always good to buy gold, because it’s a tangible asset that the entire world values. But there are always cycles in the price of gold, as we have seen in the last two years. There have been valleys in the price of gold that lend to great buying opportunities and then spikes in the price as we seen now. So you have to consider all of these factors when buying gold.

What does SP mean on PCGS graded coins?

Mark Host — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:45:28 PST

The SP stands for satin finish for PCGS encapsulated coins. The SMS designation is used by NGC to denote a Satin Finish graded coin.

PCGS will use the SP designation in place of MS, presumably because it is a different manufacturing method, just like business strikes are differentiated from proof strikes.

NGC will use the SMS designation in the coin description as opposed to using it as a manufacturing type in front of the coin grade.

What Grade Can I Expect in a Mint Set?

Mark Host — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:48:12 PDT

A very open ended and unknown question, but a valid and frequent one I hear all the time.

Getting mint sets graded can be tough because they are often all the same grade, meaning, the market is flooded with plenty of Satin Finish MS68’s or BU MS65/66 coins from rolls. Its the grade one step above the most common that often yields a reward, and the next step above that is almost always impossible to find. For example, you will rarely find a Satin Finish MS70, but the MS69 are available, they’re just expensive. Or finding a MS69 brilliant uncirculated from a roll is nearly unheard of, yet the MS68’s are around, but once again, quite expensive.

So you can expect to get what every one else gets, including dealers, when they send their mint sets in for submission to third party grading service like NGC or PCGS.

One caveat, perhaps politically incorrect, the “slabbed” modern coins from ICG and ANACS may be priced lower which many believe is a clear sign the market saying they have lower grading standards. This may or may not be true, but in my experience collectors and dealers are less likely to give away PCGS and NGC coins for the same price as ANACS and ICG.

Note, this does not apply to ‘classic’ coins of the pre-1964 era, in particular the 19th century coinage. ANACS, atone point was the leader and graded very strictly. However, you are very likely to find more of these mint set graded coins on eBay for lower prices than other third party graded slabs.

Back to the mint sets. One guideline, the best piece of advice. Look at the coins you’re sending into grading. Take a long hard look at them under magnification, with a pinpoint light source to see the flaws and imperfections.

Good luck grading! Email me with any questions or post a comment any where on this site.

What is the W on 2006-W Coins?

Mark Host — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:16:23 PDT

First, let me explain what a mint-mark is and then I will go into why some people are wondering about ‘W’ marks on coins.

Mint marks are small letters, either on the obverse or reverse, depending on the coin, that identify where the coin was manufactured (or minted). In the old days, there were many mints with a variety of more obscure mint-marks. Today, the Treasury Department has consolidated these facilities to two major buildings and two minor, but very important facilities. The two biggest being Philadelphia and Denver, the speciality locations being San Francisco and West Point.

Years ago, there were many locations due to proximity of population and natural resources. Mint facilities opened in Carson City to handle the large amount of silver and San Francisco to process all the Gold from California, Alaska and elsewhere. Even still today, we have locations spread out throughout the country in order to supply the country and world with money and coinage.

The ‘W’ mint-mark is special because it is the location where the U.S. Treasury mints all of the bullion coins and many of the specialty precious metal commemoratives, but not all. This facility is highly guarded and monitored by the government as it houses millions (probably billions) of dollars worth of metal.

Along came 2006, the year the Mint decided to stamp a ‘W’ on the uncirculated silver bullion. Only, this time they produced a burnished uncirculated silver bullion coin for collectors instead of the regular mint state bullion coin. The surface is more refined and has a higher collector quality. This coin also came at the very end of the year (in November, before Christmas) when no one was paying attention. It was one of the lowest minted coins in the silver American Eagle series.

For whatever specific reason, this coin demand a high price for collector, investors and dealer alike. It is the first truly burnished uncirculated silver bullion coin from the series and has since been the highest standard for this series.

In short, this coin is highly sought after, and legitimitely so, for the population is very low, the quality high and the demand just too much. Attaining one of these coins in MS70 will cost you a few bucks, and even more so for a first strike/early release. The MS69 is well worth the money and nearly identical to most collectors. A much better value purchase, in my opinion.

I received the wrong item!

Mark Host — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:56:29 PDT

If you believe you have not received all or part of your order, email us immediately and let us know. The sooner the better.

Once we straighten everything out, we will ship you the correct merchandise along with an envelope or package for shipping the wrong items back to us. We will give you a return shipping label so there will be no additional cost to you.

While this does not happen often, mistake do happen in our shipping department. Typically, these problems take less than a week to straighten out. You will have the correct order in no time!

I Forgot to Use a Coupon Code?

Mark Host — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:47:07 PDT

If you have checked out without using a promotion code given on our website or directly from Mark Host Coins you must contact us immediately. Once the item has been shipped we do not authorize any refunds.

However, in this case we will issue a special coupon code for your next purchase in the dollar amount of the discount that you intended to receive.

Do you take offers for your coins?

Mark Host — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:05:54 PST

Yes!

We do. We will accept all gracious offers for consideration. We can lower a price if your offer is satisfactory. We send all offers through Paypal or Google Checkout Invoicing to your email address given and paid through the method of choice. Both payment options have the option to pay with your own credit card.

Please use the offer contact form for any offers.

There was an error in my order, what now?

Mark Host — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:02:33 PST

First send us an email to notify us of the error and it’s correction. We will assess each case one at a time so we get it right.

As a general policy, we treat you fairly and decide each case individually. While we do our best to work out all issues, it just isn’t possible to resolve 100% of cases. If you have an issue with your purchase and we cannot be of assistance, Mark Host Coins recommends you take your case to your credit card provider or the ANA for dispute resolution.

Take a look at our purchase, shipping and privacy policy.

How do I redeem a discount?

Mark Host — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:00:23 PST

You can accept promotional codes on checkout. Once you press the checkout button from your cart you will be directed to the secure server connection to fill out your personal & credit card information. Once in checkout you will be able to redeem any discount in the coupon code form field.

I made a mistake with my order and need to change it!

Mark Host — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:33:19 PST

Not a question but a common problem on the Internet. Simply contact us!

Get a hold of us through email, phone or well if it comes to that, snail mail. Use the addresses and phone information below. rest assured, you will be able to change, cancel or suspend your order. If you need to return anything we can assist you in exchanging or refunding your coins.

phone: +1 (315) 427-3430

email: info [at] markhostcoins [dot] com