TB, There are those that believe that first strike or early release are just gimmicks to increase the asking prices of numismatics. The idea behind same is to indicate that the strikes are made with relatively new dies and have sharper, clearer details. In reality dies are switched out on a regular basis, and stockpiles of a certain coin may be created before shipping commences. Secondly, these first strike designations are normally attached to mint products, what I'll loosely call "numismatics", instead of bullion produced at private mints (even though they are highly desireable new world order silver rounds). My whole investment strategy has been to buy proof and regular coin at or near melt value, and on some the numismatic values rise. The rest I rely on thier underlying melt values. I don't submit many coins for grading, but when I do they those with higher numismatic values. I find that I don't recoup the costs of grading those that don't. I think that ebay has fundamentally changed the value discovery of collectable coins. ie. One can usually find all but the rarest coins online at or near thier underlying metal content melt values...as opposed to being limited to what you could find at your local coin shop, or at numismatic/coin shows. S~P
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