1986 $1 Silver and $5 Gold Eagles in acrylic [solved]

Hi All - Going through my Dad's coins, mostly loose coins from when he was a kid (no home runs that I saw, but it was fun to go through them) and then some mint and proof sets.  There were also 2 each of 1986 $1 Silver and $5 Gold Eagles in acrylic with “American Eagle” and “1/10 Oz US Eagle” printed on the acrylic, respectively.  The proof and mint sets obviously came directly from the US Mint and are in original packaging, but these eagles didn't have any documentation with them.   Did he order these from the Mint the same as the proof/mint sets, or were these encased by a dealer?  Photos showing the acrylic labeling:

A few more images available https://en.numista.com/vous/vos_pieces.php?user=250878&ct=coin

So I guess I'm just curious if these are uncirculated, with a side question of whether there's value above bullion spot (I'm guessing no, but worth asking).

And to slightly overload my post with another question on these coins, one of the golds has some kind of defect on the reverse:

Is that a minting defect that caused oxidation, or just an indication that these aren't in fact straight from the Mint?

Thanks in advance,

Bill

Hi, 

These 2 bullion coins are housed in capital holders, which are not original US mint packaging. I believe that in the transfer of the gold eagle from the original packaging to the aftermarket holder, the gold piece could have gotten a foreign liquid on it, causing the oxidation. 

Lastly, in the US, bullion pieces almost always are sold with a premium, where the sale price is a certain percentage higher that spot price.  

edit: typos

Thanks nobody.  I guess by definition these coins would be uncirculated - no one ever used a $5 gold coin for a movie ticket I'm guessing.  So how were these coins distributed from the US Mint, and why would anyone transfer them into an acrylic holder?  I did have someone offer me full spot for the gold, so that's what made me wonder if at least the one without the defect had any value as a coin proper.

Should be obvious but my experience in looking at coins started about a week ago.  Trying to do my homework to understand what I've got.  Regarding price, I found PCGS and for this coin https://www.pcgs.com/pricehistory#/?=9803-60  but I recognize that I have no understanding of grading.  Looks like this coin, even for not top graded levels, does have some value above spot bullion.  (And yes, I know that what it's worth is exactly what someone will offer for it.  Again, just trying to understand the market before I do anything with these.)

Cheers,

Bill

I myself have put some nicer pieces in capital holders. I like them. 

 where is the concern? it wasnt so long ago, gold and silver coins like this werent worth much really, in real terms, 

and coin collectors could do what they liked without freaking out their heirs.

Mr. Midnight

I myself have put some nicer pieces in capital holders. I like them. 

 where is the concern? it wasnt so long ago, gold and silver coins like this werent worth much really, in real terms, 

and coin collectors could do what they liked without freaking out their heirs.

 

I just assumed that they were originally in something like the proof sets I ran across, so it seemed like a downgrade.  But I can see how it's an upgrade over having them loose.

I'll mark my question solved but happy to take more comments.  Glad I ran across this site/forum, it really helped me go through Dad's stuff.

I've never seen oxidation like this on a gold coin. It looks like there's a piece of debris in the center of the spot? Can you take a close-up picture with a macro lens or similar and zoom in on it? 

Gold eagles do have some percentage of copper in them, so it's not entirely surprising. But that spot looks really bad.

Edit: Looks like your picture is hi-res enough, just needed some cropping. There is definitely something there. I think it might be worth disassembling the holder and trying to clean it off. I'd at least be curious enough to do it for science!

Kopeika

I've never seen oxidation like this on a gold coin. It looks like there's a piece of debris in the center of the spot? Can you take a close-up picture with a macro lens or similar and zoom in on it? 

Gold eagles do have some percentage of copper in them, so it's not entirely surprising. But that spot looks really bad.

 

Edit: Looks like your picture is hi-res enough, just needed some cropping. There is definitely something there. 

 

Curious what the something is.  Glad you made the image work, I left the coins at my Dad's place and will make another trip back in the future to deal with the coins and other stuff.  So no new pictures soon.

Can you even tell if that spot is something on the surface or does it look like something ate into the metal?

Edit: for science I'll do it when I'm there next.  Not like I'm going to devalue it any further, right?

waisaacs

 

Can you even tell if that spot is something on the surface or does it look like something ate into the metal?

Kinda looks like it ate into the metal, doesn't it? Not sure at all what could do that. Maybe an insect got in? Or some sort of caustic chemical droplet? Piece of chocolate? Actually maybe it looks like burnt plastic. I wonder if someone burned it with a lens+sunlight?

waisaacs

 

Not like I'm going to devalue it any further, right?

No, I think you could only improve it - because you'd have a hard time finding a buyer for it in its current state for a reasonable price.