What Does "EARLY RELEASE" or "FIRST STRIKE" and other such terms really mean about coin quality?

The purpose of this guide is to educate buyers of silver American Eagle coins about the meaning of the terms "Early Release" or "First Strike".I hope to dispel what I believe to be a misconception between those terms and quality of coin.Whether a buyer wishes to attribute value to the fact they can say they own one of the first coins "received" from the mint is entirely up to them but to say it is of better quality than a later "received" coin is doubtful.

I have been a casual hobby collector of proof and uncirculated gold and silver "eagles" for the last twenty years. Although I am not an expert in any sense of the word, I do hold a doctorate in law and have spent my entire career doing research on many different subjects. I recently became interested in increasing my collection of coins, particuarly silver eagles, as I feel they present a great opportunity for investors and they are a beauty to own.

I did a great deal of research on coin grading and the operation of the U.S. Mint to try to understand the various terms associated with coin collecting and grading. I wanted to know whether I was really receiving the stated value for coins I purchased or considered for purchase. There is no question that coin grading services provide a valuable service for those who seek the very best , rare coins or otherwise.

 However, when it comes to proof and uncirculated coins of recent issue one may reasonably question the use of many of the terms dealers and others attribute to coins for the purpose of leading the buyer to believe the coin they are buying is of higher quality. We're all familiar with the terms and there is no reason to repeat them here. An example of this is the term "deep cameo". I see this used often to refer to the pictorial on the coin, implying it has a more prominent or raised profile. This is highly subjective on new coins and not supported by any objective form of proof such as a scanning device which could in fact tell one the depth of the profile.

As far as "First Strike"  goes nobody knows when their silver american eagle coin was struck by the mint. Most everyone knows that to qualify for "First Release" your coin must be submitted to NGC or one of their approved depositories within the first month of the coins release date, but again , it doesn't tell you when your coin was struck. The date on the box does not correlate to date of manufacture. Coins are not numbered nor does the mint keep track of order of production. According to the U.S.Mint, production on bullion coins begins several weeks before the official release date and as much as 50% of the anticipated sales have already been struck. The dates on the packing slips are merely for tracking and quality purposes. Ebay does not allow me to put the direct link to the U.S. Mint website where this is discussed but the direct link can be found by visiting the NGC's official website where this info is contained.  This article goes on to say that the dies on silver eagle proof coins are replaced every 300-500 coins. Again, a coin produced towards the end of a production run could potentially have a better strike than a coin struck towards the first of a run. Which would you rather have, the first coin struck from a die in the last month of a run or the 500th coin struck with a die in the first month of a run?

In summary, if you truly want to know the grade of a coin you must have it graded by a professional and not rely on loosely defined terms from sellers who willingly disclaim any expertise after using such terms. If we limit the use of the term "First Release" just to describe a coin received  from the mint within so many days of  it's official release, without implying it is of better quality, then there is no problem using it. My only problem with that is that I think that is the general perception. Factual representations should be used instead such as no toning, scratching, no evidence of handling, etc .which would give buyers a fairer idea of the coin they are purchasing. Otherwise have it graded and then we can discuss the "politics" of grading.