If you don't know what PVC plastic is - maybe now is a good time to learn.

As the coin world learned about the new technology that was called plastic (back in the good ol' days), holders made from plastic were designed to store and display coins.  At first, most plastic was hard and unbendable.  This plastic did not have very much PVC in it, if any at all.  But in the 1950's to 1970's, a new SOFT plastic was developed and mass produced, it had PVC in it.  Mints all around the world used it for official Mint and Proof sets. Everybody loved it. But...

Sometime in the 1970's, the coin world discovered a problem - heat caused those PVC holders to leach PVC into the coins, turning them a greenish tint and causing pits to develop in the coin's surface.  Pitted coins generally are considered problem coins, and not desired by collectors, unless the coins are considered rare.  Now, collectors know to remove these coins immediately upon purchase from those PVC holders, carefully dip them into lighter fluid or a similar liquid, and place into a non-PVC holder.  HOWEVER - not all coins are worthy of purchase in those original government holders, because of the excessive amount of PVC damage.

And that is the problem - YOUR PROBLEM - if you buy government mint and proof sets.  Some sellers advertise these sets as ORIGINAL GEM BU GOVERNMENT SETS.  They sometimes also have a COA (certificate of authenticity). As a general rule, if they are in SOFT plastic holders and were made before the early 1990's, they could contain PVC plastic.  Most world mints now use low- or non-PVC plastic holders today. But know this - those PVC official government mint and proof sets do NOT contain ORIGINAL GEM BU coins (except in rare circumstances where the coins were stored in dark,dry rooms held at a constant temperature somewhat below normal room temperature).  These coins are damaged!!! And not worthy of purchase unless you know how to professionally grade coins. 

NOTE:  in the case of British government mint issues of the 1960's, which are common in today's market, ask yourself this riddle - if most of these coins are damaged, and most of the coins in uncirculated condition came from these government sets, why don't dealers break open all the sets, clean the coins, discard all but the least damaged examples - and sell those coins at a very high price that reflects their rarity???

ANSWER - it's not profitable to them, because there's too small of a market for expensively priced issues.  Instead, they knowingly call them GEM BU in ORIGINAL (sometimes called UNOPENED) GOVERNMENT SETS (sometimes sold WITH A COA).  It's fraud, but the legal system hasn't caught up with technology. The ANA allows this, so eBay plays along. 

Buyer Beware!

Bruce Peterson  buycoins21