Collector’s question: First Strike and Early Releases – are you paying too much for the label?
Hi Collectors Club, Cooper here. 🐾
This week, a question landed on my desk that I’d been meaning to answer for a while. Thomas from Hamburg wrote to us:
“I keep seeing coins with the inscription ‘First Strike’ or ‘Early Releases’ on the label. They regularly cost more than the same coin of the same grade without this addition. Am I paying for something genuine – or for a sticker?”
Good question, Thomas. And to be honest: one of the few in the collectors’ market where the short answer really is “it depends” – but with very clear criteria for what it depends on.
What the label actually means
Let’s start with what’s written on the slab – and what it means.
PCGS awards the designation “First Strike” to coins that are graded within the first 30 days after their official release. PCGS maintains lists with cut-off dates for each year.
NGC uses the terms Early Releases and First Releases . Both terms are defined identically by NGC: The coin must be received by NGC or an NGC-approved distributor within the first 30 days after its release. If both designations are available for the issue in question, the choice of which term appears on the label depends on the sender’s selection. First30 is another term used synonymously with Early Releases.
And here lies a difference that many overlook: Both work with 30 days, but the testing methods are completely different.
PCGS accepts various forms of proof. The decisive factor is generally the 30-day period following the issue’s release. Shipments to PCGS must be postmarked by the respective First Strike deadline; alternatively, PCGS accepts unopened original mint shipping cartons with the corresponding postmark. For coins from outside the USA, PCGS requires additional documentation of the issue and purchase dates and decides on a case-by-case basis.
For NGC, the actual receipt by NGC or an NGC-approved receiving agent within the 30-day window is generally decisive. For regular submissions, an unopened original package is not required. However, for certain later set releases, NGC may require a sealed and postmarked mint shipping box as additional proof of delivery.
In practical terms, this means that two coins with seemingly equivalent labels could have gotten there via very different routes.
And now the point where most misunderstandings arise:
All these designations document that the time conditions of a program have been met – not a property of the coin.
The label confirms an early stage in the issuing process. It does not state when the coin was minted.
When I go for a walk in the woods, I’m always the first one at the edge. That doesn’t mean I find the best tracks, though. I’m just there earlier. 🐾
Where the myth comes from
The name suggests something else. “First Strike” sounds like the first striking – like fresh dies, sharper details, the very first coins to leave the mint.
This very issue led to one of the most famous disputes in the modern collectors’ market in the USA. In November 2006, class-action lawsuits were filed against both grading services in a US federal court. The core of the accusation: The term was not used for the first coins minted, but for coins shipped within the first month after issue – and buyers were thus misled.
The U.S. Mint itself has a remarkably clear position on this: it does not record which coins were minted first. Dates on shipping boxes refer to the packaging and shipping, not the minting date. According to the Mint, there is no generally accepted, standardized definition of “First Strike” within the industry.
The detailed rules of both programs have changed several times since then. However, the basic principle remains the same: Both operate within a time window around the coin’s release – not the actual minting date.
For you as a collector, this simply means: the term refers to logistics, not minting technology. Once you understand this, you’ll automatically make better decisions when it comes to the question of surcharges.
What the designation explicitly is not
NGC clearly distinguishes between different types of additives.
There are coin-specific grading codes – such as Ultra Cameo, Prooflike, the plus sign, or the star. These describe the characteristics or the grade of the coin itself.
And there are release designations – Early Releases, First Releases, First Day of Issue. These refer to the timing or conditions surrounding publication and submission.
Early Releases is therefore not a better grade . A PF70 with an Early Releases label and a PF70 without this label are both PF70. The difference lies in the label, not in the capsule.
First Day of Issue – the stricter term
One term is often confused with the two, although it has a much narrower definition.
First Day of Issue (FDI) at NGC requires that the coin be purchased within one day of the first day of sale of an issue. The coin must arrive at NGC or an authorized dealer within one week, and the sender must provide proof of purchase. In practice, this designation is primarily reserved for bulk or quantity submissions and select trade shows.
FDI is therefore significantly harder to achieve than Early Releases. Anyone who considers the two terms interchangeable is comparing two very different requirements.
Two numbers that hardly anyone knows
At NGC, there are two pieces of information that are more important for the question of the surcharge than they might seem at first glance.
The first one concerns the deadline. Coins stored at an NGC-approved depot must be submitted for certification no later than six months after the issue date. Those who miss this deadline will forfeit the designation, even if the coin arrives within the 30-day period.
Practical consequence: The authorization cannot be preserved indefinitely. For coins deposited in a timely manner at an NGC-approved receiving facility, the possibility of later certification with this designation ends no later than six months after the issue date.
The second concerns the quantity. As early as 2010, NGC reported more than 1.45 million coins marked accordingly for the program introduced in 2006.
More interesting, however, is an example that NGC itself published at the time. Of the 1-ounce gold American Eagle coin from 2010, NGC certified 18,116 specimens as Early Releases – out of a mintage of 1,093,000. That’s less than two percent of the total issue.
This number is a double-edged sword, and that’s precisely what makes it so useful. Measured against the mintage, the proportion is small. But in absolute numbers, 18,116 specimens are anything but rare – that’s a considerable quantity of coins with the same imprint.
A label that has been awarded millions of times is not in itself a scarcity indicator. Only a specific edition can be described as “scarce” to a certain degree – and that is stated in the population report, not on the label.
When a surcharge is justifiable
There are situations in which the award has an objective basis:
If you are intentionally building your registry set consistently using this designation, a clarification is needed here, which is often overlooked: While NGC lists Early Releases and First Releases separately in the Census, in the registry these coins receive the same points as undesignated specimens. There is no point bonus. Those who wish to assemble their set entirely with Early Releases or First Releases based on their personal collecting criteria need the designation – it has no bearing on the pure point value.
If the population report shows a small certified population and there is actually collector demand for this combination. For some issues, the number of coins with the release designation in the highest grade is truly small. In these cases, it’s no longer just about the label, but about a demonstrably rare, certified combination of issue, grade, and designation. Importantly, this does not make the coin a numismatic variant. Physically, it is indistinguishable from a coin without this label.
When the designation is added to an output that is already being searched for. For a coin that is sought after for other reasons, the label is an additional feature – not the basis of the collector’s value.
And when is he not?
Whenever the label is the only factor. A surcharge that arises solely from the printing and not from preservation, print run, population, or demand is a surcharge for text on cardboard.
Cooper’s three questions before buying
If you are offered a coin with a First Strike or Early Releases label, three questions will help:
1. Am I deliberately building my set uniformly with this name?
If so, you need them – as a personal collection criterion. They don’t provide any additional registry points.
2. What does the population report say?
Don’t just look at the percentage of specimens with a designation, but also at the absolute number in each grade. A small early release population can represent a scarce certified combination. Whether this actually results in a higher market value also depends on whether collectors are specifically seeking that designation.
3. Would I buy the same coin of the same grade without a label at the same price without a markup?
If the answer is yes, then you know exactly what you’re paying extra for – namely, the label. That’s perfectly fine, as long as it’s a conscious decision.
Collecting should be enjoyable. A label you like is a legitimate reason. A label you mistakenly believe describes the minting is not.
And what about older coins?
This will be of interest to anyone interested in older collectibles.
These designations refer to the timeframe surrounding the original release of a coin. A gold coin submitted decades later, dating from the 1960s or 1970s, cannot retroactively receive a regular First Strike or Early Release designation. Its collector value is determined by other factors: mintage, condition, rarity, provenance, and demand.
Incidentally, this is precisely the area where my people spend most of their time. With the items that are examined in our office, the labeling issue is usually irrelevant – it’s all about the figures in the population report.
Cooper’s summary
First Strike, Early Releases, and First Releases document that a coin has met the time requirements of a release program. They say nothing about when the coin was minted, and they do not change the grade. A surcharge is understandable if you deliberately build your set uniformly with this designation, or if a small population of the respective grade coincides with actual collector demand. In all other cases, you are paying for the label.
And now, if you please: The next collector’s question is already on my desk. 🐾
Sources
The information in this article is based on official information and program terms from PCGS, NGC, and the United States Mint. For certain historical figures and the development of the early release policies, publications from NGC dating back to 2010 were also consulted.
- PCGS: First Strike Program
- NGC: Early Releases and First Releases
- NGC: First Day of Issue
- NGC: Early Releases – historical program information and figures from 2010
- United States Mint: Information on First Strike and First Release Designations
Further collector questions with Cooper
You can find more answers about gold coins and grading in the Collector Questions with Cooper .
Related to this topic: NGC or PCGS – which grading company is better for gold coins? Is PF70 really worth it, or is the premium over PF69 often too high?
