Beginning in 2005, PCGS began designating coins packaged and delivered by the U.S. Mint in the 30 day period following the initial sales date of a new product as First Strike®. For instance, new American Silver Eagles typically go on sale each January 1st, thus any coin packaged or delivered and submitted to PCGS for certification between January 1 and January 31 qualifies for the First Strike® designation.

There are two ways PCGS can verify if a coin was shipped out from the mint within the first 30 days. The first is when a coin is shipped to PCGS from the customer with a postmarked date before the cutoff date for that particular coin. In this example, PCGS only needs the coin to be mailed in. No extra mint packaging is needed (i.e. boxes, certificates, etc.).

The second way PCGS can verify that a coin qualifies for First Strike designation is when a customer does not open the sealed package that came from the mint. In this instance, the package must remain completely sealed and unopened. The customer then can send that whole package in to PCGS and the receiving department will go by the postmarked date from the mint. As long as this date is prior to the cutoff date for that particular coin, it qualifies for first strike.